Top 3 Most Likely Reasons your Chimney is Leaking

Chimneys leak for many varied reasons related to moisture intrusion. The top three most likely reasons your chimney is leaking are well known by chimney sweeps. They would urge you to schedule a fix right away! At FlameMaster Chimney Sweep LLC, our technicians are CSIA-certified and have ongoing training to keep up with current best practices. First, they will determine the cause of your leaky chimney. Secondly, they will fix the damage before things get any worse. The top three most common reasons for a leaky chimney follow.

Chimney Flashing

The different parts of a chimney work together to keep water out of the masonry system. Unfortunately, those components wear out and need to be repaired from time to time. Chimney flashing, however, is almost predictably unreliable in holding up its end of the deal. Its important job is to create a waterproof seal between the chimney and the roof.

Things go wrong many times because it’s difficult to install chimney flashing correctly, and water gets in. Even if it is installed perfectly well, the flashing rusts or a weather event causes the metal to pull away from the chimney stack. Flashing is the most likely reason your chimney is leaking.

Chimney Cap or Chase Cover

Whether you have a chimney cap or a chase cover at the top of your chimney is determined by the type of fireplace you have. Both essential accessories have the same job, which is to keep rain and other types of precipitation from going into your chimney.

Chimney caps are made of metal and simply wear out over time or as a result of bad weather conditions. They don’t usually keep moisture out when deterioration occurs. You will need to repair or replace the chimney cap.

Chimney chase covers are installations for manufactured fireplaces. Like a shoebox lid, these metal covers sit on top of the chimney. Also called a top pan, chase covers function as a waterproof cover. Chimney chase covers are prone to rust, though, which can result in a leaky chimney.

Mortar

Mortar that holds masonry together doesn’t last nearly as long as the bricks. While the bricks still have 75 years or more to go, the mortar wears out after 25 years, at most. If the mortar isn’t replaced when it begins to deteriorate, water seeps into the masonry system. This can result in a chimney leak and has another disastrous effect.

Bricks that contain water expand and contract during freezing and thawing cycles in winter. The movement causes the bricks to flatten eventually, causing a chimney to lean and possibly to collapse.

FlameMaster can Fix Your Leaky Chimney

Even if it isn’t one of the top three most likely reasons your chimney is leaking, our experienced chimney technicians at FlameMaster will pinpoint the problem and fix it. As needed, we also offer chimney cleaning, chimney inspections, flashing repair, masonry repair, chimney crown repair, fireplace installation, and much more.