When you are looking at your house, you might not always be thinking about your roof. Aside from that, roof problems can quickly get out of hand. The chimney is one of the most vulnerable parts of your roof, and it is different from the roof structure, which magnifies the risk to other parts of the roof.

You need to be able to determine if you need a chimney repair or you can have it inspected at first. Therefore, it is important that you are aware of the signs and you will know what they are here.

Leaks

If your brick chimney has leaks in your home, then you know that it needs immediate attention. They can occur for different kinds of reasons, so you need to have a professional check and assess the issue. The worse thing is that the leak can be hard to locate for an untrained eye since leaks move across the surfaces, so you are not aware of the origin. For instance, if there is a leak caused by the poor flashing that is around the chimney’s base. The leak can go into your attic, across rafters, and goes into the wall that does not seem to be near the chimney.

Mortar Joints are Deteriorating

The damaged mortar joints must be repaired right away, and they are found between the chimney masonry. When they deteriorate, the masonry gets exposed to even more moisture, and it accelerates the deterioration. During the freezing weather, the moisture has the tendency to freeze in the cracks and masonry. When the moisture thaws and then freezes in rocks, bricks, and cement, it can lead to larger cracks. Your chimney may collapse if you do not have the damaged mortar repaired.

Cracks

The chimney crown’s major role is to stop water damage from happening. Since it sits on the chimney, it is supposed to keep water and snow from going into the structure. However, if the crown has a crack or damage, moisture will enter its way that causes a couple of issues like broken or damper flue tiles. If you want to know if there is a crack in the chimney crown, you must go on the roof as the majority of the damage is not seen from the ground. If you see that there is a crack in the crown, you must quickly replace it, or the moisture problem worsens causing more structural damage.

Rusty Firebox

Signs of moisture are bad signs that the chimney is not operating the way it should. Rust is a clue there is a lot of moisture, and you might see rust inside the damper or firebox. You need to look closer to whether it is hard to operate or not sealing properly. Chimney moisture leak that causes rust can create a lot of problems, which include a crack in the flue tiles. A deteriorated or cracked flue lining causes a lot of danger, and it can allow a lot of heat that goes into the weak areas, which could cause a fire.

Chimney Blockage

You need to make sure that the chimney is clear before booting up the fireplace in the winter. Always check if the chimney is clear because the smoke cannot simply go back into your home – this is dangerous.

If you need chimney inspection Bowie, do not hesitate to book an appointment.

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