Chimneys have an important functional role, but they can also add architectural detail to your home. Below, check out nine chimney design ideas, whether you’re completing a new build, looking to give your house a facelift, or simply curious about different styles.
1. Separate Chimney Flues
In this design, each appliance has its own separate chimney flue, helping to improve performance and decrease the risk of dangerous backdrafts. Simple rain caps help keep moisture and rodents out while they direct the exhaust gas so that it doesn’t waft down an adjoining flue back into the house.
Pro Tip: Mark, a This Old House contractor, advises: “What we like to see is that you discharge these two flues at different elevations. So that, that’s won’t happen so easily.” He explains that when flues are at the same height, smoke from one can hit the cap and get drawn down into the adjacent flue.
Safety Note: During a This Old House project, Terry discovered firsthand how rain caps can fail: “back in last winter, we had a problem with a squirrel that made its way down through the chimney pipe and the duct work.” This highlights why regular chimney cap inspections are essential for both performance and pest prevention.
2. Clay Flue Pots
When chimneys don’t draw properly, it’s sometimes because they’re too short or too wide at the top. Adding chimney pots may keep smoke from wafting through the house because the pots add to the height and narrow the opening. They also add an interesting architectural feature.
Pro Tip: Mark, master plumber, emphasizes the importance of proper draft: “Look at the smoke. Look at how it’s being pulled up as well. Those are the two things that I love right off the bat.” He notes that consistent flame color and strong smoke pull are key indicators of a well-functioning chimney.
3. Quoins
Stone chimneys, just like stone buildings, often sport quoins, or dressed stones that march up each corner. Quoins are usually set so their wide and narrow faces alternate. They can be used to accentuate the corners of a structure, creating a more defined and elegant appearance. This is particularly common in traditional and classical architecture.
Pro Tip: David Peabody, mason at Smith & May, explains the artistry behind corner stones: “You find a stone with a shape that’s in the ballpark and work with it. You find about one or two stones per week that fit naturally, with a consistent joint.” This attention to detail ensures the quoins appear naturally distributed rather than forced.
4. Brick and Mortar
This style is both classic and practical. When masons build chimneys, they use mortar that’s slightly softer than the brick. This way, if something has to give, it will be the mortar that suffers. Mortar that crumbles can be repaired with simple repointing, while brick that breaks would need to be replaced, which is a labor-intensive job.
Pro Tip: Paul Penetta, mason, advises on mortar selection: “I’m using Portland cement and fine sand Bob. The reason why I’m using this is there’s less shrinkage.”
Pro Tip: Charlie Allen, restoration-company owner, emphasizes the delicate nature of brick removal: “It takes a gentle touch, just enough to remove what’s already loose and in bad shape.”
5. Paired Chimneys
Double interior chimneys, such as those shown here, were often found on colonial houses built in the Georgian style. In the northern colonies, builders tended to locate chimneys toward the center of the house, where the warmth absorbed by the masonry would radiate out and keep rooms cozy during long winters. In southern colonies, chimneys were near end walls or even built outside the walls so the heat could dissipate.
This architectural symmetry was so important that builders sometimes created false chimneys purely for visual balance. In fact, during the restoration of a 19th-century Arlington house, TOH discovered that one of the paired chimneys was actually “a wooden dummy chimney” with no evidence it was ever functional, while its partner was a working masonry chimney that ran to the basement.
6. House Geometry
A beefy chimney dominates the front of this 1960s-era house. Note how the blocky shape echoes other geometric features visible from the street. The chimney’s width, for example, is in proportion to the spacing between posts on the front porch and the width of the front door with surround. Most houses have a built-in geometry, which the chimney plays into.
Mark McCullough explains the critical “10 foot 2” rule for chimney height: “we go up, take our chimney up to the roof line, we measure over as soon as we hit 10 feet. We go up 2 feet from there.” This ensures proper draft while meeting building codes.
7. Flashing Options
When a chimney rises from the very center of a house with a peaked roof, it penetrates both sloping sides of the roof. To keep water from seeping into the seam between brick and roof, the roofer used a straight flashing instead of the traditional stepped flashing—separate pieces that line up with each shingle course. Straight flashing like this works only for short sections.
Pro Tip: Paul, a mason with experience on century-old chimneys, explains the importance of material choice: “Mainly lead because it’s easy to work with, it oxidizes. It doesn’t deteriorate.” He notes that while aluminum and copper are sometimes used, lead remains “the best material to use right now” for chimney flashing.
8. A Play of Angles
A roof with lots of interesting angles makes a good home for a chimney that’s intricate as well. This chimney is set at a 45-degree angle to the base, crowned with several rows of corbeling. Some of the wood trim on the house is stained black, which makes it easier for someone standing on the ground to appreciate the care that went into building this beauty.
9. Curved Top Chimneys
The mason who built this stucco-faced chimney created an arched cap to keep rainfall out. But that still left a couple of problems to be solved: confining sparks and keeping squirrels and other rodents out. Readymade screens and rain caps are one solution, but here they would have interfered with the design. Instead, a simple piece of metal screen blocks the opening.
