Is the leak the fireplace or the roof??

[MBG2003]

Sorry but this is long...
1. New 'roofover' already on house I bought 3 years ago. Roofover new at time. Within a week noted small leak in den. Roofer came out and redid 'cricket' around fireplace. Made it higher. Low slope roof. 12:2
Leaked around fireplace chimny edges a year later. County had him take cricket entirely off and rebuild with butal tape. Six months ago leak around same place. Took metal roof off and found no bad places. Brick and cement/morter in good shape per roofer. This weekend same place leak is so bad the drywall ceiling is starting to fall down. Roofer came out . My chimney is completly tarp-wrapped to prevent any water coming down chimney from Hurricaine Irma because have not found a chimney damper/cap to fit. Tarp in good shape.

Roofer said leak is from water entering morter-"you see the dark on the morter- water is leaking through". Reall? In suffient quanities to come through ceiling and on to floor?? Your son said chimney in good shape, including morter. The dark on morter is on north side only. Second fireplace is in shade of a big tree and has black morter on all sides. Does not leak. Is this guy scamming me or not?? I am single female who is so damn tired of getting scammed by workers- auto repair, etc. I am happy to get on roof and clean and seal chimney if needed but do't want to find out that this is not the problem. What do you suggest? Tried to attach pictures but cannot seem to figure how on this forum. Have never had trouble on other sites but not doing something right. Sorry.

Interior pic

 

[begreen]

Can you post some shots of the chimney and it's current flashing?

 

[Highbeam]

Masonry chimneys seem to leak very often for so many reasons. If you ever get tired of the masonry you can just remove it. Surprisingly cheap and easy.

Butyl tape ?

 

[bholler]

Masonry chimneys seem to leak very often for so many reasons. If you ever get tired of the masonry you can just remove it. Surprisingly cheap and easy.

Butyl tape ?

Really cheap and easy? It eould be much cheaper and easier to just fix the chimney that is there. I dont know the specifics but by the time you tear down and dispose of the brick. Rebuild and reroof over the hole them do class a to replace you will easily be at 5000

 

[Highbeam]

Really cheap and easy? It eould be much cheaper and easier to just fix the chimney that is there. I dont know the specifics but by the time you tear down and dispose of the brick. Rebuild and reroof over the hole them do class a to replace you will easily be at 5000

Sure it might be cheaper to repair. Nobody said it wasn’t but I suggest considering just removing it.

We had our masonry chimney and fireplace removed and roofed over professionally for about 500$. It’s super easy. The insert was sold for 500$ so that made it free! To be fair I framed and sheetrocked the old hole in the wall so maybe a couple hundred bucks to be forever rid of that leaking, unstable, maintenance intensive, low performance, low safety, masonry system.

The op has a 2:12 pitch roof. I’m going to guess this is a pretty short chimney.

 

[bholler]

Sure it might be cheaper to repair. Nobody said it wasn’t but I suggest considering just removing it.

We had our masonry chimney and fireplace removed and roofed over professionally for about 500$. It’s super easy. The insert was sold for 500$ so that made it free! To be fair I framed and sheetrocked the old hole in the wall so maybe a couple hundred bucks to be forever rid of that leaking, unstable, maintenance intensive, low performance, low safety, masonry system.

The op has a 2:12 pitch roof. I’m going to guess this is a pretty short chimney.

I am sorry but there is no way a professional could make a living charging 500 for that. Even if the homeowner supplied all of the materials and disposed of the debris doing that job is a one day job for 2 guys. And there is no way you can pay all of your expenses (liability auto workers comp insurance wear and tear on equipment fuel etc) and have enough to pay an employee and yourself. Just because of where you live you are heavily biased against masonry. You have seismic activity. In most of the country if done right masonry will outlast a class a chimney with no maintenance. And if lined with an insulated liner there is no performance difference.

 

[Highbeam]

You don’t have to believe me. I actually don’t care what you think. The men I hired removed the entire masonry structure below the floor and hauled it away. They even moved the insert out into the garage. It was dusty was my only complaint. Took them all day but this is not rocket science.

To the op, you’re not stuck with that leaking mess. You can have it removed for cheap! Call around and weigh your options.

 

[brenndatomu]

I am sorry but there is no way a professional could make a living charging 500 for that. Even if the homeowner supplied all of the materials and disposed of the debris doing that job is a one day job for 2 guys. And there is no way you can pay all of your expenses (liability auto workers comp insurance wear and tear on equipment fuel etc) and have enough to pay an employee and yourself. Just because of where you live you are heavily biased against masonry. You have seismic activity. In most of the country if done right masonry will outlast a class a chimney with no maintenance. And if lined with an insulated liner there is no performance difference.

You don’t have to believe me. I actually don’t care what you think. The men I hired removed the entire masonry structure below the floor and hauled it away. They even moved the insert out into the garage. It was dusty was my only complaint. Took them all day but this is not rocket science.

To the op, you’re not stuck with that leaking mess. You can have it removed for cheap! Call around and weigh your options.

When you 2 square off...reminds me of

or

 

[bholler]

You don’t have to believe me. I actually don’t care what you think. The men I hired removed the entire masonry structure below the floor and hauled it away. They even moved the insert out into the garage. It was dusty was my only complaint. Took them all day but this is not rocket science.

To the op, you’re not stuck with that leaking mess. You can have it removed for cheap! Call around and weigh your options.

Yes you will find people who will do it cheap but they probably are not insured or licenced. They probably wont spend any time effort or money to protect your house from damage. If you are fine with inviting a contractor like that into your house that is up to you.

 

[bholler]

You don’t have to believe me. I actually don’t care what you think. The men I hired removed the entire masonry structure below the floor and hauled it away. They even moved the insert out into the garage. It was dusty was my only complaint. Took them all day but this is not rocket science.

To the op, you’re not stuck with that leaking mess. You can have it removed for cheap! Call around and weigh your options.

We also have not seen the chimney or flashing at all so we have absolutly no clue what size or condition the chimney is in. We dont even know if that is the issue. All we know is that there is a brand new metal roof on the house. And the roofer first saod the chimney was fine and reflashed it with tape. When that didnt work they said the chimney was bad.

 

[bholler]

Sorry but this is long...
1. New 'roofover' already on house I bought 3 years ago. Roofover new at time. Within a week noted small leak in den. Roofer came out and redid 'cricket' around fireplace. Made it higher. Low slope roof. 12:2
Leaked around fireplace chimny edges a year later. County had him take cricket entirely off and rebuild with butal tape. Six months ago leak around same place. Took metal roof off and found no bad places. Brick and cement/morter in good shape per roofer. This weekend same place leak is so bad the drywall ceiling is starting to fall down. Roofer came out . My chimney is completly tarp-wrapped to prevent any water coming down chimney from Hurricaine Irma because have not found a chimney damper/cap to fit. Tarp in good shape.

Roofer said leak is from water entering morter-"you see the dark on the morter- water is leaking through". Reall? In suffient quanities to come through ceiling and on to floor?? Your son said chimney in good shape, including morter. The dark on morter is on north side only. Second fireplace is in shade of a big tree and has black morter on all sides. Does not leak. Is this guy scamming me or not?? I am single female who is so damn tired of getting scammed by workers- auto repair, etc. I am happy to get on roof and clean and seal chimney if needed but do't want to find out that this is not the problem. What do you suggest? Tried to attach pictures but cannot seem to figure how on this forum. Have never had trouble on other sites but not doing something right. Sorry.

Interior pic

View attachment 225692 View attachment 225693

Get a good mason or chimney pro that does masonry out to look at it. They should be able to tell you what is going on. And after you know that you can evaluate your options

 

[weatherguy]

My stone fireplace leaked after we'd get heavy rain. Every few years I put a coat of siloxin and it hasn't leaked since. I too had 3 masons come out to find the problem. The last one was a 70 year old Mason and his son who told me to coat it and then that would solve my problem. You can't beat experience.

 

[maple1]

Is this chimney actually being used?

 

[bholler]

My stone fireplace leaked after we'd get heavy rain. Every few years I put a coat of siloxin and it hasn't leaked since. I too had 3 masons come out to find the problem. The last one was a 70 year old Mason and his son who told me to coat it and then that would solve my problem. You can't beat experience.

Yeah some stone can be pourous and no matter what you do it will leak without sealant. Clearly that material should not have been used for an external application but at this point sealing is the only option. But if the op has the same brick outside as we saw inside it is modern brick and if it has a good crown and the mortar is in good shape sealer is not nessecary.

And our buisness is an almost 70 year old sweep and his son. We have been doing masonry repairs on chimneys for about 40 years. So yes we have experience on our side to.

 

[Simonkenton]

I know it is a little late for my brilliant advice, but a 2:12 pitch is not good. Even for a metal roof not steep enough. Makes sealing around a chimney with a cricket more difficult.

 

[bholler]

Is this chimney actually being used?

The op hasnt returned without more info and pics we really cant help

 

[bholler]

I know it is a little late for my brilliant advice, but a 2:12 pitch is not good. Even for a metal roof not steep enough. Makes sealing around a chimney with a cricket more difficult.

Yes that could certainly be part of the problem. But again we havnt seen any pics of the top side.

 

[Rearscreen]

My experience is that nothing is cheap and easy except for the cold expensive beer that goes down real easy.

 

[Seasoned Oak]

My experience is that nothing is cheap and easy except for the cold expensive beer that goes down real easy.

Ill drink to that!

 

[Highbeam]

My experience is that nothing is cheap and easy except for the cold expensive beer that goes down real easy.

Boo. Lots of things are cheap and easy but they might not be high quality. Don’t you remember the three legs of a labor purchase? Cheap, fast, good. Choose two.

Low skill manual labor is often cheap but that is heavily market dependent. In some markets the contractor can name his price!

 

[bholler]

Boo. Lots of things are cheap and easy but they might not be high quality. Don’t you remember the three legs of a labor purchase? Cheap, fast, good. Choose two.

Low skill manual labor is often cheap but that is heavily market dependent. In some markets the contractor can name his price!

Yes actually tearing down the chimney is a very low skill job. But if you hire someone for really cheap are they going to be able to evaluate the structure to determine if that chimney is a structural support as many are in older houses? Are they going to be able to properly reframe the roof and patch it in so it looks good and is water tight? Are they going to be able to contain the dirt so it doesnt spread through out the house? Are they going to prorect your floors walls a nd furnishings from damage? And if something does get damaged will they have insurance to cover that damage? In short you get what you pay for.

 

[Highbeam]

Yes actually tearing down the chimney is a very low skill job. But if you hire someone for really cheap are they going to be able to evaluate the structure to determine if that chimney is a structural support as many are in older houses? Are they going to be able to properly reframe the roof and patch it in so it looks good and is water tight? Are they going to be able to contain the dirt so it doesnt spread through out the house? Are they going to prorect your floors walls a nd furnishings from damage? And if something does get damaged will they have insurance to cover that damage? In short you get what you pay for.

I have all of those questions for even the most expensive contractor.

I disagree that you get what you pay for. What a silly assumption that would be. So many folks, including myself, have paid good money for poor work and small money for great work.

Not sure how you drug us down into this rabbit hole. The thread is about a leaky roof that is allegedly related to a masonry chimney. I suggest the op consider tearing out the chimney and that in my experience it was very low cost demolition work. That’s all.

 

[bholler]

I have all of those questions for even the most expensive contractor.

I disagree that you get what you pay for. What a silly assumption that would be. So many folks, including myself, have paid good money for poor work and small money for great work.

Not sure how you drug us down into this rabbit hole. The thread is about a leaky roof that is allegedly related to a masonry chimney. I suggest the op consider tearing out the chimney and that in my experience it was very low cost demolition work. That’s all.

Well yes paying allot doesnt nessecarily gaurantee good quality work.that is why you should always check references. But if a contractor is not charging enough to cover the required expences and still have profit left 9 times out of 10 you will get very poor work. And at 500 for that job there is no way they could be licenced and insured. There just isnt enough money there for it.

 

[Seasoned Oak]

We do have people who do great work for very reasonable prices here in Pa ,the amish. I dont think i could find anyone to do that Job for $500. Perhaps tear down the chimney but not he rest of it. Most of the contracters wont even come out and look at a $500 job.

 

[bholler]

We do have people who do great work for very reasonable prices here in Pa ,the amish. I dont think i could find anyone to do that Job for $500. Perhaps tear down the chimney but not he rest of it. Most of the contracters wont even come out and look at a $500 job.

Yeah amish and mennonite generally do work cheap. But like all contractors there are good ones and there are bad ones. And the good ones usually cost more. We have a mennonite chimney guy near us. He is really cheap. But he drops unlisted un insulated liners and doesnt clean the chimney first. So yes he is cheaper but he is using cheaper materials and doing half the work.