Water in Chimney / Ash Pits

[prezes13]

I don't know much about chimneys. And I won't argue with a pro. But I know for a fact that it is an existing problem in CT. That's why I brought it up to op attention so he could check if that's a problem in his particular situation.

 

[brickie]

Those brick look like KF Heritage brick.
http://www.redlandbrick.com/onlinecatalog/brick-colors/kf-brick/153/heritage-swb-(083)
I've seen them spall.
Kinda hit or miss.
Don't let them seal it if they're using a non breathable product!

 

[bholler]

Those brick look like KF Heritage brick.
http://www.redlandbrick.com/onlinecatalog/brick-colors/kf-brick/153/heritage-swb-(083)
I've seen them spall.
Kinda hit or miss.
Don't let them seal it if they're using a non breathable product!

Yes if they use the right type of product there should be no harm done. But there is something wrong with how the chimney is constructed if it is only a year old and is already leaking that bad. And they are proposing solutions without even looking at the whole chimney. I am sceptical of their knowledge because of that.

 

[sportbikerider78]

Any time you hear someone say caulking to prevent water egress, red flags and trumpets sound. It isn't usually a professional you're talking to.

 

[Tek20]

I hired a local recommend chimney company on my own. They inspected the chimney today and determined it had to be wind swept rain based on the direction of the house and how severe the last storm was. They can not find anything wrong with the construction of chimney.

The opening of the caps face West and East. The wind was being driven North East, which was the direction of the cap opening.

I remind everybody helping with this that this storm that flooded the chimney was hurricane force winds with inches upon inches of rain. A 100 year storm for the area.

The cap is fine and constructed correctly with no cracks. Photo attached. Two people have said the same thing. One being the mason and one now being the chimney company I hired with no connection to builder.

 

[brickie]

Congrats!

 

[bholler]

I hired a local recommend chimney company on my own. They inspected the chimney today and determined it had to be wind swept rain based on the direction of the house and how severe the last storm was. They can not find anything wrong with the construction of chimney.

The opening of the caps face West and East. The wind was being driven North East, which was the direction of the cap opening.

I remind everybody helping with this that this storm that flooded the chimney was hurricane force winds with inches upon inches of rain. A 100 year storm for the area.

The cap is fine and constructed correctly with no cracks. Photo attached. Two people have said the same thing. One being the mason and one now being the chimney company I hired with no connection to builder.

I see quite a bit of efflorecence on the chimney already. And it doesnt look like typical new construction efflorecence because of the way it is distributed. That tells me there is water getting in there from somewhere.

 

[Tek20]

I see quite a bit of efflorecence on the chimney already. And it doesnt look like typical new construction efflorecence because of the way it is distributed. That tells me there is water getting in there from somewhere.

I have no idea what this means. Could you explain?

 

[bholler]

I have no idea what this means. Could you explain?

The white deposits on the mortar joints you can see it running down over the face of the brick in one area. This is caused by salts being washed out of the masonry by water. You can get it sometimes on new masonry but yours doesnt look like that. I would keep a close eye on it but with the water inside and the efflorecence i see problems on your future.

I dont see any obvious construction problems from the pic but that efflorecence is concerning to me.

 

[Tek20]

The white deposits on the mortar joints you can see it running down over the face of the brick in one area. This is caused by salts being washed out of the masonry by water. You can get it sometimes on new masonry but yours doesnt look like that. I would keep a close eye on it but with the water inside and the efflorecence i see problems on your future.

I dont see any obvious construction problems from the pic but that efflorecence is concerning to me.

Also, what stops torrential heavy rains that are being blown directly at the side of the chimney from going down that large opening we see? Logic would state that it would blow into the chimney. I never had a drop of water in the chimney before this insane storm.

 

[bholler]

Also, what stops torrential heavy rains that are being blown directly at the side of the chimney from going down that large opening we see? Logic would state that it would blow into the chimney. I never had a drop of water in the chimney before this insane storm.

That efflorecence didnt show up from one storm. What about the water seeping through the wall by the chimney. Was that only from this storm to?

 

[Tek20]

That efflorecence didnt show up from one storm. What about the water seeping through the wall by the chimney. Was that only from this storm to?

Only this one storm. Yes.

 

[bholler]

Only this one storm. Yes.

Ok maybe it is nothing. But i would keep an eye on that efflorecence. If it gets worse it indicate a problem that will lead to serious damage. I hope it works out to be nothing

 

[Tek20]

Ok maybe it is nothing. But i would keep an eye on that efflorecence. If it gets worse it indicate a problem that will lead to serious damage. I hope it works out to be nothing

I really appreciate your help. I just don't know where else to go with this. I have had water in the basement through the foundation in other spots. I feel as if a large percentage of this water was from the foundation and another percentage from wind driven rain.

I had the other chimney company inspect ti because I was concerned with the mason's diagnosis.

Everything would indicate that is entered through the openings under the cap, but I believe part of it came through the chimney footing in the ground. The chimney footing is outside the french drain system in the basement.

Now that I think about it. I pumped out the ash pits during the storm. The storm ended and the I had more water in the pits after it stopped raining.

This has been stressful none the less.

 

[bholler]

I really appreciate your help. I just don't know where else to go with this. I have had water in the basement through the foundation in other spots. I feel as if a large percentage of this water was from the foundation and another percentage from wind driven rain.

I had the other chimney company inspect ti because I was concerned with the mason's diagnosis.

Everything would indicate that is entered through the openings under the cap, but I believe part of it came through the chimney footing in the ground. The chimney footing is outside the french drain system in the basement.

Now that I think about it. I pumped out the ash pits during the storm. The storm ended and the I had more water in the pits after it stopped raining.

This has been stressful none the less.

If you pumped out the ashpits clearly that is more water than what blew in under that cap.

 

[fire_man]

I know for a fact because of a friend who does costraction there is some contractors out there who use cheap bricks which will sponge water. Solution is reapplying sealer once a year or rebuild the chimney, but that's if the bricks themselves are the culprit. Second suspect for me would be the crown.

My chimney was built in 1985 and the brick is porous. I have to use a siloxane sealer every 5 years or so to keep water from permeating into the house. It was never as much water as the OP said, but the inside brick got soaking dripping wet until the exterior was sealed. Drove me nuts but the siloxane fixed it. I'm not saying thats his problem but in may case sealing worked.

 

[Tek20]

My chimney was built in 1985 and the brick is porous. I have to use a siloxane sealer every 5 years or so to keep water from permeating into the house. It was never as much water as the OP said, but the inside brick got soaking dripping wet until the exterior was sealed. Drove me nuts but the siloxane fixed it. I'm not saying thats his problem but in may case sealing worked.

The day following the storm I pumped out water twice from the ash pits after the rain stopped. It had to be a combo of rain water from the chimney and mostly ground water. I have had water come up from the basement floor before. The chimney footing is likely not excluded from this.

 

[bholler]

The day following the storm I pumped out water twice from the ash pits after the rain stopped. It had to be a combo of rain water from the chimney and mostly ground water. I have had water come up from the basement floor before. The chimney footing is likely not excluded from this.

And this is new construction? I would be pissed and the builder would be getting calls weekly till it was fixed.

 

[Tek20]

Builder is working on it. New houses have problems just like old houses have problems.

 

[brenndatomu]

New houses have problems just like old houses have problems.

Not if the builder/subs don't take shortcuts and/or cheap out on materials they don't...but good luck getting a home built without that these days! I can't even seem to get my roof replaced correctly!

 

[bholler]

Builder is working on it. New houses have problems just like old houses have problems.

Yes there will alway be some small problems. But to me a wet basement is not a small problem. And it is not an easy fix now. Honestly to fix it right they need to take the floor out install drainage under it then insulation and vapor barrier. Then new floor. I would settle for no less than that. It is how it should have been done to start with. The walls may need sealed from outside as well i dont know.

 

[Destructor]

I occasionally get seepage into my ash pit. My 64 year old brick chimney sits on the footing which is just below grade. Since extending a downspout the problem now seldom occurs, except for the extreme rain we had a couple weeks ago I did get a small amount of water dripping into the basement. I am very fortunate that the only water I have ever had in the basement is that once or twice a year small puddle. After rebuilding the top few courses and the crown on the chimney the dripping of water into my fireplace also went away.

 

[sportbikerider78]

If you are getting water in from around your chimney foundation then there is a drainage problem on the outside of the building. Please understand these problem cannot be solved from the inside out. You have to dig, seal, then drain properly. It could very well be solved with something as simple as a french drain or a gutter that has a downspout too close to the house and at the incorrect pitch away from the home.

Next time you get a real downpour, got outside and walk to that area. I can't tell you how many problems I have solved with drainage by getting soaking wet in a storm. It teaches you everything.

 

[bholler]

If you are getting water in from around your chimney foundation then there is a drainage problem on the outside of the building. Please understand these problem cannot be solved from the inside out. You have to dig, seal, then drain properly. It could very well be solved with something as simple as a french drain or a gutter that has a downspout too close to the house and at the incorrect pitch away from the home.

Next time you get a real downpour, got outside and walk to that area. I can't tell you how many problems I have solved with drainage by getting soaking wet in a storm. It teaches you everything.

I agree that in most cases it cant be fixed from inside. But in this case the op said they had water coming up through the floor. They also said there is a french drain. It absolutly still could be drainage. But i have seen many times when they did everything right on the walls but did nothing to control water under the slab.

 

[maple1]

I think at least some, I suspect most, had to have come from elsewhere than the chimney top & down the chimney. A wide open 1ft square opening up there could possibly let in 6 gallons of water - during a 12" rain fall. How much did it actually rain? That cap looks pretty good & sheltered, so I wouldn't expect it to let in much more than maybe 1/4 of what a wide open chimney would, and that's if it's coming completely sideways - at which point it should theoretically blow in one side & out the other. And that looks smaller than 12" square.

BTW where does the other chimney flue go that I see there? Did water get there? Or maybe you already explained.