Masonry fireplace and full-height chimney for a Winnetka custom home — flue engineered to the appliance spec, poured crown with stainless cap, and a surround finished to match the home’s exterior brick.
Project Details
Drag the handle to compare. Use arrows to browse all 3 project photos.
After 
Before 1/3 — Chimney stack — new masonry chimney with poured crown, stainless cap, and woven flashing
After 
Before 2/3 — Fireplace surround — finish masonry executed to match the home’s exterior material palette
After 
Before 3/3 — Roofline detail — chimney proportioned to the elevation with code-compliant clearances
The architect designed this Winnetka home around a great-room fireplace that had to anchor the interior and read proportionally on the roofline outside. We coordinated flue sizing with the fireplace supplier during design, built the chimney as part of the home’s structural sequence, and finished the surround in the same material palette as the exterior — one coherent design, inside and out.
Flue sizing, firebox geometry, and code clearances all have to be right before the finish masonry goes up — they can’t be fixed after
A chimney that isn’t proportioned to the elevation looks undersized against a large custom home, even when it meets code
Crown, cap, and flashing details decide whether a new chimney stays watertight through decades of Chicago winters
Every project follows the same disciplined sequence — no shortcuts, no hand-offs, same crew start to finish.
We coordinate with your architect and fireplace supplier on flue sizing, firebox specification, and chimney placement — early enough to inform the drawings, not react to them.
From footing through the roofline, the chimney structure is built with correctly sized flue liners, code-required clearances, and coursing planned to read proportionally against the home’s elevation.
The firebox is constructed to the appliance specification, and the visible surround — brick, stone, or mixed materials — is executed to the same finish standard as the home’s exterior masonry.
A poured concrete crown with drip edge, stainless cap, and step flashing woven into the roofing complete the weather envelope. We document the finished assembly before closeout.
A masonry fireplace is one of the most architecturally demanding elements in a custom home — structural, mechanical, and aesthetic at once. AMS builds fireplaces and chimneys as part of a coordinated whole with the home’s exterior masonry, working directly with architects, builders, and fireplace suppliers so the centerpiece of your great room performs exactly as designed.
Before framing — flue routing, chimney placement, and firebox dimensions affect the structure around them. We join design conversations early so the fireplace is planned into the home rather than squeezed in later.
Yes, multiple fireplaces are common on larger custom homes. Each needs a properly sized flue, and some can share a chase when engineered correctly. We plan chimney placement so it works with the roof design rather than against it.
A full masonry fireplace offers permanence and design freedom; a prefab insert in a masonry chase is faster and less costly. We build both and will walk you through the honest trade-offs against your design goals and budget.
