A leaking chimney is a sign of trouble to your fireplace and home. When the chimney is leaking, the chimney remains wet for long. This results to chimney deterioration. A leaking chimney is an emergency issue and you should hire a chimney masonry repair professional as soon as possible to fix it.

Why your chimney could be leaking

Some of these reasons why your chimney could be leaking include:

Lack of chimney cover: From its name, a chimney cover is a unit that covers the chimney. It’s usually placed at the top of the chimney preventing water, birds and other animals from getting into the chimney. When your chimney doesn’t have a cover, water easily enters from the top and runs down the inside of the chimney.

Cracked flashing: A chimney flashing is made from aluminum and is placed at the area where the chimney pokes above the rooftop. The flashing is designed to function as a water seal; therefore, when it’s cracked, water easily finds its way into the chimney.

Cracked chimney crown: The chimney crown is the cement portion at the top of the chimney. It’s designed and installed to keep rain out; therefore, when its damaged or cracked, rain seeps into the chimney. Cracked bricks: Most of the chimneys are made from bricks. Due to old age or trauma the bricks crack thus allowing water to find its way into the fireplace.

What to do about a leaking chimney

The cool thing with a leaking chimney problem is that it’s easy to fix. The first thing that you should do is to undertake chimney inspection. This is to identify the cause of the problem. For ideal results hire a chimney professional to undertake the inspection. If your chimney doesn’t have a chimney cover, install it. If the cap is cracked, you can either remove it entirely and replace it with a new one or coat the cover’s top surface with a waterproofing agent.

If the flashing has become loose or has peeled up, nail, caulk and tar it back into place. In addition to this also consider coating all the exposed masonry surfaces with a clear masonry waterproofing sealer. Apply two coats using a garden sprayer set at low pressure.

Conclusion

This is what you need to know about a leaking chimney. As mentioned, if you have a leaking chimney, treat it as an emergency. For ideal results, work with an experienced and certified chimney contractor.

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