From Stonebridge Ranch to historic downtown McKinney, a properly sized cricket keeps rain, hail runoff, and debris from pooling behind your chimney.
McKinney's chimneys come in two very different flavors, and both can end up with the same problem. The turn-of-the-century masonry chimneys around historic downtown McKinney are often wider than modern builders would ever pour today, while newer prefab fireplace chases in Stonebridge Ranch, Craig Ranch, Adriatica, and Tucker Hill are built wide for aesthetics on today's larger rooflines. Any chimney wider than about 30 inches on the up-slope side is a magnet for standing water, granule buildup, and leaf debris if it doesn't have a cricket diverting that flow around it — and in Collin County's weather, that's not a someday problem, it's a this-season problem.
Flashing alone is designed to shed water off a narrow point, not redirect a sheet of runoff around an obstacle several feet wide. Once a chimney exceeds that width, rain and roof debris start backing up against the up-slope brick or siding instead of flowing past it. Over time that stalled water works its way under the flashing, into the mortar joints, or behind the chase cover.
A cricket is simply a peaked wooden or metal saddle built into that up-slope gap, sloped to split water left and right around the chimney instead of letting it pool. It's a targeted fix for water diversion — it doesn't replace flashing repair or a chimney cap, it works alongside them.
Collin County sees a rough combination for chimneys: seasonal hail that dents and lifts flashing edges, high straight-line wind events that drive rain sideways into any gap, and freeze-thaw cycles each winter that turn small water intrusion into cracked mortar and lifted shingles. Add in the clay-soil shifting common across McKinney, which can slowly move a house's roofline and open up flashing gaps that weren't there when the chimney was built, and you have a recipe for chronic leaks around any wide chimney that lacks a saddle.
In the historic district, we're often tying a new cricket into original masonry and older step flashing that was never sized for today's roofing materials. In master-planned neighborhoods like Craig Ranch and Adriatica, the issue is usually a builder-grade prefab chase that was framed wide for curb appeal but finished without a cricket at all. Either way, the fix has to account for the specific roof pitch and chimney width on that house — not a one-size-fits-all bracket.
Cricket sizing depends on the chimney's width, the roof pitch, and how much water volume that section of roof actually sheds during a heavy storm. Too shallow a pitch on the saddle and it won't move water fast enough; built without proper step flashing tie-in and it just creates a new leak point instead of solving the old one. Correct installation means the cricket's flashing is woven into the existing roof flashing system, not caulked on top of it, so water has one continuous path off the roof.
This is also a good time to have a broader chimney inspection done, since a wide chimney that's been shedding water improperly for a while may already have moisture damage to the masonry or flashing that should be addressed at the same time. Homeowners dealing with recurring drips should also read our breakdown of chimney water damage warning signs to see how many symptoms point straight back to a missing cricket.
McKinney's hail and wind season doesn't wait — get your wide chimney evaluated now.
(214) 225-8874Cricket installation pricing depends on a handful of real factors: the width of the chimney and pitch of the roof, whether the existing flashing can be reused or needs full replacement, the material used for the saddle (framed and shingled versus metal pan), and roof access — a steep two-story roofline in Tucker Hill takes longer to work safely than a single-story ranch. Older masonry chimneys downtown sometimes need mortar or leak repair work done alongside the cricket, which adds to the scope. All Lowes Chimney Sweep services start at $99, and every job in McKinney gets an up-front, itemized number before any work begins — no surprise add-ons once we're on the roof.
We're certified, insured, and rated 5 stars, working seven days a week across McKinney and the surrounding DFW area. Request a Free Online Quote or call (214) 225-8874 to get your chimney's width and roof pitch evaluated properly.
"Very pleased with the professionalism and promptness of service. The chimney sweep was done quickly and efficiently at significantly less cost than the first quote I got from another company. Happy to recommend Lowes Chimney Sweep to anyone in Plano!"
"Outstanding chimney sweep service from start to finish. They were punctual, courteous, and left our chimney spotless with no mess in our home. I won't use anyone else for chimney services in Dallas TX!"
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Generally, any chimney wider than about 30 inches measured across the up-slope side is a candidate, which describes a lot of the larger prefab chases in Stonebridge Ranch and Craig Ranch. We measure the actual width and roof pitch on-site before recommending one, since a slightly wide chimney on a steep roof behaves differently than the same width on a low-pitch roof.
Yes, and it's common in the historic district where original chimneys were built wider than current codes typically call for. The main consideration is tying the new cricket flashing into aged step flashing and mortar joints without disturbing brick that may already be showing wear.
It does — hail and high wind events in Collin County dent and lift flashing edges over time, and freeze-thaw cycles expand any trapped water, prying seams open further. A cricket removes the standing water that makes those weather patterns damaging in the first place.
A cricket solves future water pooling, but if leaking has already occurred you may also need flashing or masonry repair to address existing damage. We check both during the same visit so you're not paying for a cricket that sits on top of an unresolved leak.
Most installations take a single day, though steep two-story rooflines found in neighborhoods like Adriatica or Tucker Hill can add time for safe access. Weather also plays a role — we schedule around Collin County storm patterns to avoid working a roof mid-hail season.
Straight answers from our DFW chimney pros before you book.
