Finding and Fixing a Chimney Leak
We have lived in this home for four months now with non stop issues. We just had a new roof installed to replace a five year old roof, (issues there isn't enough space to type out that an inspector failed to note). When it would rain we would get water in on all sides of the chimney in the attic at the roof line. The new roofers cut into the mortar joints and installed new flashing. It is pouring the rain today and that is working great but we have a new leak. I am getting water in through the bricks of the chimney now in the attic. How do I find the source of this leak? Do I need someone to rip out the internal bricks from the flue down past where it is leaking and rebuild the flue? The home has major shifting issues so things are moving, support walls around the fireplace, floors dropping and so many other issues. I can't have this fixed until they are finished adding major support under the home but I wanted to have an idea of what I need to do when that time comes. This house can't take anymore water. Here is a link to a few pictures: Picasa Web Albums - Linda - DIY Sorry to hear about all your troubles. First thing I would do is check the top of the chimney. All the mortar on top should slope to the outside also called Crown. You want to force the rain off the top of the chimney by sloping everything that includes the brick courses you have around the top that look like 1or 2 inch shelves. Brick and mortar are just like a sponge and absorb water if your chimney is holding water on top As it appears it is by the mold on the bricks it has soaked up all it can and is weeping out down in your attic. 1st clean all around the top with a wire brush. 2nd add motar to the top so that everything has a slope away from the flue so there is no possible way of water ponding anywhere on the top r side bricks. 3rd let it dry as much as possible then use a masonry water sealer and spray or brush it on all exposed brick or mortar. Make sure that is not flammable after it has dried most sealers are not but just be safe. 4 th put a rain cap on top that covers as much as possible. Being masonry you can have a sheet metal shop make one for you that will cover more than a store bought cap. Just make sure you can secure it so the wind does not blow it off. Hope these tips help. Good Luck Beer 4U2 Thanks for the reply. We had a guy in here yesterday pouring footers so they can jack up the house and he is going to do just what you said. He said they have an internal layer of bricks in the flue that are stacked and the water just sits there. He is going to first see if anything has come lose with the shifting and fix that. Then he is going to seal it and paint it to ensure nothing can get in the cracks and he also suggested a bigger cap as well. We plan on putting in a vented gas insert when we can so we are trying our best to salvage this thing and not have to just rip it out totally. He also suggested I get concrete patch to fix the inside fireplace bricks that are breaking/have broke lose from the shifting. Thanks again! If theres that much shifting and cracking going on you should get a structural engineer out to look at it to make sure it is safe before you spend the money patching it back together. Would hate to see you spend all that time ad money fixing something that is not safe. Atleast he can give you a report as what to do to make it safe. structuraly that is. Good Luck Let me warn you about picking out a sealer, this can cause more damage in the long run. I have seen alot of chimneys with the completely water tight sealers or paint on them. This usually results in trapping the water in and forcing it all to sweat out insde the house. Not to mention freeze thaw up the ying yang if you live in an area tha t drops to freezing tempatures. We use a product up here called Chimney Saver don't know how easy it is to get on the consumer/retail market though. Its really good stuff it allows the brick to breath while still repelling water so what moisture is trapped in can still get out. I know its a siloxade based sealer I am sure there is others on the market since I have seen article in a masonary magazine talking about siloxade based sealers. Like unklbuk said get a check out all the masonary up top, if your mortar between the bricks is soft or damaged water can get in there, the crown is definently another good place to inspect since it gets hit the hardest. Chimney cap abosuletly with out one its just a giant funnel up there. If i were you I would start elimating the areas the leak could be coming in from, usually if its a failure in the flashing you will see the water entering between the chimney and your drywall or what ever material is surrounding it. If its just water logged and sweating it will be coming straight from the brick. A good way to figure out if its just the masonary failing is to cover the chimney with a tarp and wait for the next rainfall if that stops the leak there is your culprit for sure. Looks like from your photos the roofers set the flashing in with silicone this isnt always the best method if there was moisture in the joint when they set it the silicone might not have bonded, dosent always fail but kinda risky in my opinion. You could even get someone to stay inside and watch the chimney while you go up with a hose and start letting water run down it start by going all around the flashing to insure its good. If you have no problems there I would start inspecting the mortar, take a screw driver and scrape some of the joints if it comes out easily like soft sand you will probaly need to have it tuck pointed or even possibly rebuilt. As far as the broken firebricks in the firebox, its pretty common since the firebricks used are a special heat radiating brick they use in furnaces too. They are pretty soft and break easily. The refactory cements usually used to build them is pretty water sensitive. So with a combination of all that water and heat from your fireplace it could easily be damaged. A decent chimney mason can rebuild your firebox with out disrupting the rest of the chimney. I would make sure its not a settling issue first, since in order for stress to show up and crack there your chimney would have to be severly broken in other places possibly a chance for flue gases to escape.
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