Chimney Problems

[SpaceBus]

Our interior cement block masonry chimney has begun to leak at the flashing where it penetrates the roof. This summer I was planning on installing a Duraliner rigid liner, but now I'm considering tearing the whole thing out and running class A and selling the rigid liner. I really wanted to drop the liner last summer, but didn't have enough time to get to that project. The interior chimney has other issues like water seeping from some of the mortar joints, two unnecessary penetrations in the bedroom, and areas of the block have bubbling paint that is clearly some sort of water issue. Many of these issues only became apparent after I purchased the liner in fall 2019...

What would you do in my shoes, tear out the masonry chimney or fix it? I'm sure many in New England are having roof leaks today, this is a wicked storm!

@bholler your opinion would be really appreciated.

 

[Bad LP]

Are you 100% sure its the flashing and not just a case of water proofing the masonry? At my old house I came to the conclusion that the flashing was bad when in fact a treatment was all that was needed when I got up on the roof. DO NOT use Thompsons and if you get a solvent based product don't spill it on your asphalt shingles.
In 16 years I've had my tiled field stone masonry chimney done twice when sweeping. Simple as using a pump sprayer.

 

[savageactor7]

With the money you save burning wood a very good option would be to have the chimney professionally done over.

 

[SpaceBus]

With the money you save burning wood a very good option would be to have the chimney professionally done over.

There are no "Chimney Professionals" where I live. If anyone comes to see this thing it will be a mason, which will still have to come from "the city".

Are you 100% sure its the flashing and not just a case of water proofing the masonry? At my old house I came to the conclusion that the flashing was bad when in fact a treatment was all that was needed when I got up on the roof. DO NOT use Thompsons and if you get a solvent based product don't spill it on your asphalt shingles.
In 16 years I've had my tiled field stone masonry chimney done twice when sweeping. Simple as using a pump sprayer.

Well, this POS is an ugly cement block and brick chimney built by drunk "masons" in the 70's. If it were a fieldstone masonry chimney we would be having a different discussion. The paint in areas is bubbling and turning brown, so water is coming through from the inside (no cap, yet) and also now where the brick passes through the roof into the attic. It's just not a well built chimney.

 

[Rob711]

You have no love for this chimney. I’d say take it down and go with the class a. This way you will know exactly what’s there and how it was built. Who’s to say the “professional mason” from wherever will do the right thing anyway.
Now if you knew a true mason who you knew first hand, did the right thing, etc, then maybe I’d go that route. But good luck finding that person!!

 

[SpaceBus]

Good point, even a "mason" from the city can still do horrible work. We have too much on our plate for this year, so probably next year it will come down and we will probably rely on the cookstove more than the Morso connected to this janky chimney.

 

[peakbagger]

I can commiserate with you. My chimney was built by some locals years ago. They knew how to set blocks but their brickwork was marginal and they didnt understand that the tiles expand at a different rate than the block so they mortared the tile in tight at the roof where it was brick. And as they were claiming they were done they left me pile of lead flashing and told me to glue it to the brick with roofing tar. I survived with it doing various patches and temp fixes and about 10 years ago paid a mason with a good rep to tear it down to below the roof and replace it. I have not had to touch it since then. Even with the recent success I dont think I will ever have a masonry chimney built in any future home. My vote is yank yours down and put in metal.

 

[Bad LP]

There are no "Chimney Professionals" where I live. If anyone comes to see this thing it will be a mason, which will still have to come from "the city".




Well, this POS is an ugly cement block and brick chimney built by drunk "masons" in the 70's. If it were a fieldstone masonry chimney we would be having a different discussion. The paint in areas is bubbling and turning brown, so water is coming through from the inside (no cap, yet) and also now where the brick passes through the roof into the attic. It's just not a well built chimney.

Well then that settles it. Good time to determine if the chimney is in the right spot for how you live in your house. Maybe your stove can be moved to a better place??

 

[bholler]

Our interior cement block masonry chimney has begun to leak at the flashing where it penetrates the roof. This summer I was planning on installing a Duraliner rigid liner, but now I'm considering tearing the whole thing out and running class A and selling the rigid liner. I really wanted to drop the liner last summer, but didn't have enough time to get to that project. The interior chimney has other issues like water seeping from some of the mortar joints, two unnecessary penetrations in the bedroom, and areas of the block have bubbling paint that is clearly some sort of water issue. Many of these issues only became apparent after I purchased the liner in fall 2019...

What would you do in my shoes, tear out the masonry chimney or fix it? I'm sure many in New England are having roof leaks today, this is a wicked storm!

@bholler your opinion would be really appreciated.

If the chimney is a problem and it doesn't add anything to the house taking it down and doing class a probably makes sense. It will cost more and certainly be allot more work but may be the better decision. But really that is up to you. Personally I would probably fix and line the masonry but I know how to fix the masonry properly

 

[EbS-P]

I will throw this out there. I do believe the right thing to do is take it down but..... if you have the liner already, get some flashing and sealant and you have a solid fix in less than a weekend.

There is the right time to to do it right. Sometimes it takes awhile for the right time to come. What shape is the roof in? Taking it all down at the same time as replacing a roof might be the right time.

Evan

 

[bholler]

Don't use sealant on block btw a high quality block paint is the proper thing to use. The surface has to many cavities etc for sealant to work well

 

[SpaceBus]

I will throw this out there. I do believe the right thing to do is take it down but..... if you have the liner already, get some flashing and sealant and you have a solid fix in less than a weekend.

There is the right time to to do it right. Sometimes it takes awhile for the right time to come. What shape is the roof in? Taking it all down at the same time as replacing a roof might be the right time.

Evan

The roof was done before we bought the house in 2015-ish. 3 tab asphalt shingles over roofing felt, not a great roof by any means, but easy to patch if we take the masonry down first. Long term we want a metal roof, either metal shingles or standing seam, nothing with exposed fasteners. The right time certainly isn't this year, but I'm going to pass on installing the new liner and keep everything in the boxes so I can resell it easier. Currently the masonry chimney dictates how the room, which is most of the first floor space, can be arranged and with it gone we can really make some positive changes to the house layout.

Since the chimney is leaking now I will probably go up on the roof when conditions permit and use some DAP 3.0 Silicone sealant around the flashing, which looks terrible from the ground. That will get us by for a few years until we can do it the right way. The input on this thread has been helpful in making a plan forward.|

Edit: I posted before seeing Bholler's response, what do you suggest for sealing the flashing on the brick that extends through the roof from the attic?

 

[Bad LP]

The roof was done before we bought the house in 2015-ish. 3 tab asphalt shingles over roofing felt, not a great roof by any means, but easy to patch if we take the masonry down first. Long term we want a metal roof, either metal shingles or standing seam, nothing with exposed fasteners. The right time certainly isn't this year, but I'm going to pass on installing the new liner and keep everything in the boxes so I can resell it easier. Currently the masonry chimney dictates how the room, which is most of the first floor space, can be arranged and with it gone we can really make some positive changes to the house layout.

Since the chimney is leaking now I will probably go up on the roof when conditions permit and use some DAP 3.0 Silicone sealant around the flashing, which looks terrible from the ground. That will get us by for a few years until we can do it the right way. The input on this thread has been helpful in making a plan forward.|

Edit: I posted before seeing Bholler's response, what do you suggest for sealing the flashing on the brick that extends through the roof from the attic?

Just the price of steel went up .54/sqft from last fall to the spring is what my roofer told me a couple of weeks ago. I lined him up too late (and I knew better) last year for a formed on site standing seam replacement roof because the 30 year IKO shingles are junk in 16 years. I have to do it now or take the risk of damage to the substrate under the shingles and that is not something I want to entertain.

 

[peakbagger]

One thing I learned in my patching attempts is that regular Silicon (RTV) uses acetic acid in the mix. If used on lead flashing the acetic acid can corrode the flashing. When I pulled it off I found the joint that I thought I had sealed to be full of white corrosion. GE sells silicon 2 (I think other companies also do). It uses a non corrosive alcohol that does not rot lead.

At one point I made stainless steel step flashing. The guy who redid my chimney was impressed and reused it and then counter flashed over it with lead. The original chimney guys got generous on the size of the opening and the stainless covers the gap with something a lot stiffer than lead.

 

[SpaceBus]

One thing I learned in my patching attempts is that regular Silicon (RTV) uses acetic acid in the mix. If used on lead flashing the acetic acid can corrode the flashing. When I pulled it off I found the joint that I thought I had sealed to be full of white corrosion. GE sells silicon 2 (I think other companies also do). It uses a non corrosive alcohol that does not rot lead.

At one point I made stainless steel step flashing. The guy who redid my chimney was impressed and reused it and then counter flashed over it with lead. The original chimney guys got generous on the size of the opening and the stainless covers the gap with something a lot stiffer than lead.

Thanks for the heads up. In fact I wouldn't be surprised to find a bunch of silicone when I go up there. The flashing looks horrible.

 

[bholler]

The roof was done before we bought the house in 2015-ish. 3 tab asphalt shingles over roofing felt, not a great roof by any means, but easy to patch if we take the masonry down first. Long term we want a metal roof, either metal shingles or standing seam, nothing with exposed fasteners. The right time certainly isn't this year, but I'm going to pass on installing the new liner and keep everything in the boxes so I can resell it easier. Currently the masonry chimney dictates how the room, which is most of the first floor space, can be arranged and with it gone we can really make some positive changes to the house layout.

Since the chimney is leaking now I will probably go up on the roof when conditions permit and use some DAP 3.0 Silicone sealant around the flashing, which looks terrible from the ground. That will get us by for a few years until we can do it the right way. The input on this thread has been helpful in making a plan forward.|

Edit: I posted before seeing Bholler's response, what do you suggest for sealing the flashing on the brick that extends through the roof from the attic?

I use very little sealant at all on flashing but the few spots that do need it I use through the roof or geocell. I was referring to masonry sealants that are applied to the chimney not caulk

 

[clancey]

I am not a professional and can only say a few things from personal experience..I live in a 1926 small house and i have two chimney type of deals in it--one for the old bathroom piping (water and other exhaust thing-forget the name) I changed the bathroom arrangement so all this got disconnected but I still have the brick chimney type of square thing going up through my attic with a big black pipe extruding out of it and when it rains this black pipe leaks water around the elbow of the seals and I have a bucket under it right now..Now my main chimney a few years ago almost killed me because of some incompetents putting a chimney together and it has leaking spaces to it because someone patched it up with pie plates on top of the holes them seal them up . Did not know this and only looked at it when it almost killed me..Talk about crap work here...I got a new liner put in and that solved that problem ---I hope-----If I had my way I would tear out the whole thing...and the other monster going up from the water piping in the bathroom----that would go too.. These two things have caused me nothing but problems and talking about taking up floor space and in the way of everything-----get rid of it..(my opinion)...I at this time after this wood stove is finished will be looking for a new roof as well and I am on hold for that just like you are and Thank God my old old roof still has no leaks so I have a bit of time here in order to decide what kind of roof I want.. But just wanted to encourage you--do it and get rid of it for you will never trust it anyway...clancey

 

[MR. GLO]

If a mason cant help you...

This is a good product ///two coats and use a paint brush about 4 inches and tape the area.


Amazon product ASIN B0186ME0UE