The crown that Bob (and Sharon) built

[Osm3um]

We bought a house year back and I immediately started using our wood stove. What a blast! Thanks to some advice hear, I was able tp put new brick in our woodstove.

Our next project was to rebuild the Crown on the chimney. We decided we could try it ourselves, worst case it leaks and we pay someone next year to do it right. We started to chip away the old crown only to find out that it didn't have to be chipped away as much as shoved off as it was more like a pile of sand. This would explain the impressive amount of water coming through our chimney last year.

I then built a 2x4 structure with a 2.5 inch overhang placed it over the chimney. I attached a cable to the structure to make a drip ledge about an inch form the edge. Instead of making our own cement we purchased some premixed portland cement with gravel and fibers. Poured it in, covered it and let it cure.

We are quite proud of the results and I wanted to share it with someone! The only mistake I would suggest we made was that the premixed cement was to gravely. It can't be seen from a distance, but the edges are quite bumpy and have some large holes/bumps.

Next step is to coat the crown with some sort of paint. We were thinking pool paint would be sufficient.

Then we are going to try our hand at fixing the mortar in the brick and sealing the brick with some sort of siloxane.

If anyone has some thoughts on what to use for the crown paint and brick sealer I would appreciate it. The "chimneysaver" products are awfully expensive.

Thanks for looking and reading my long post!
Bob

 

[firefighterjake]

Nice work . . . and as for the gravelly cement . . . as you said . . . no one can tell from a distance so other than a visit from Santa or your chimney sweep (although I suspect you probably sweep your own chimney) no one will be able to critique the work!

 

[sksmass]

Wow, an ambitious project! Turned out nice. Congratulations on a job well done.

 

[gzecc]

I am always amazed that those chimney's (on tile roofs) don't leak! Looks nice.

 

[vvvv]

the cement of the cap should not be adhered to the tile. a gap finished off with silicone allows for the thermal expansion of the heated tile.

 

[blujacket]

I would use this: http://www.chimneysaver.com/crowncoat.html

 

[Osm3um]

I would use this: http://www.chimneysaver.com/crowncoat.html

I have been looking at that and have been able to find it in a 2 gallon container. It is spendy!

But what is better about it than using pool paint (for swimming pools)?

Thanks,
Bob

 

[Osm3um]

the cement of the cap should not be adhered to the tile. a gap finished off with silicone allows for the thermal expansion of the heated tile.

We had to place the crown directly on what was left over below, some cement, some heat bricks, etc. BUT we did leave a 1/4 gap between the cement and the clay "chimney" tube and sealed that with silicone. We had to use some kaowool (sp) for backing the silicone. See how it goes.

Bob

 

[vvvv]

the cement of the cap should not be adhered to the tile. a gap finished off with silicone allows for the thermal expansion of the heated tile.

We had to place the crown directly on what was left over below, some cement, some heat bricks, etc. BUT we did leave a 1/4 gap between the cement and the clay "chimney" tube and sealed that with silicone. We had to use some kaowool (sp) for backing the silicone. See how it goes.

Bob

great u left the gap! I'd paint the crown with anything exterior rated, it aint gonna get hot. the main thing is u dont want water seeping into the concrete & freezing

 

[kolyur]

Bob,

I also rebuilt my chimney crown recently and described it in this post.

I had a similar problem where the concrete was rough and pitted in certain areas where it had not fully spread into the wood form. I applied two coats of a material called Thoroseal and was pleased with the results. This is a cement-based coating that is designed to fill in voids and pitting while also sealing the surface. It comes as a powder--you mix it with water and an acrylic hardener until you get the right consistency. I applied it with a stiff tampico brush as well as a regular paintbrush for the edges. It only comes in two colors, white and grey, but I believe you could paint it afterwards. Cost was about $30 for a 50-pound bag.

I attached before and after pictures.

-John