How Moisture Can Damage Your Chimney

As strong as chimneys are, they’re susceptible to serious damage from rain and snow. Here are four ways moisture can damage your chimney and what you can do to prevent or fix these problems.

Masonry damage

When the bricks and mortar of a chimney are old, cracked, crumbling or otherwise damaged, water can easily penetrate and start causing ongoing damage.

You should have your chimney inspected annually by a professional. In between visits, you can do periodic visual inspections, watching for cracked or loose bricks, crumbling mortar joints and white staining on the masonry, which indicates that bricks are absorbing water.

When damaged masonry is detected, it needs to be repaired promptly to prevent further structural damage. Once the problem is repaired, you can have titwater-sealed to stop water intrusion.

Deteriorated chimney crown

The concrete chimney crown is the solid layer that covers the entire top part of your chimney minus the flue opening(s). A primary purpose of the crown is to shield areas within your chimney from rain and snow, which can cause major damage within your chimney system.

Over time, crowns can begin to crack due to old age. If you don’t have a full-width chimney cap that covers the flue as well as the crown, various events such as lightning strikes and pounding hail can harm the crown.

If your chimney crown is damaged, the first step is to have it repaired or rebuilt. Then you can have a water sealant applied to it. Finally, install a proper chimney cap if you don’t already have one.

Chimney cap damage – or no cap

Every part of your chimney system is important, and none are any less important than your chimney cap. As noted above, chimney caps prevent rain and snow from falling into the flue and getting into cracks in the vulnerable chimney crown.

A warped or damaged chimney cap not only can allow moisture into the system, it also can let fiery sparks and embers escape your flue and land on your roof or in the yard.

Chimney caps are differentiated from simple flue covers, which only cover the flue opening(s). It’s in your best interests to protect your chimney with a full-width custom chimney cap, installed by a professional chimney company.

Warped or missing chimney flashing

Chimney flashing prevents water damage. It is the material that blocks the gap between your roof and exterior chimney. It’s in place to keep water from running down into the home, where it can rot building materials, damage the chimney masonry and start a mold outbreak that you can’t see.

Flashing is installed with two parts: an L-shaped piece that covers the roof/chimney gap, and a flat piece that is laid over the top edges of the L-shaped piece. If your flashing is warped or otherwise damaged, have it fixed right away.

Keep your chimney in top shape

Fire N’ Stone of Tilton, NH, provides the services you need to keep your chimney in top shape. We’ll help you fix and prevent water damage in all its forms and save you money on expensive rebuilding and restoration work.

Call us for chimney inspections, water leak repairs, all other types of chimney repairs and complete chimney sweeping services. Speak with an expert today at (603) 293-4040.