Replies

1. 
   Guest_ | Dec 16, 1999 09:03pm | #1

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   Mark,I guess you have already figured out that this can be one of the toughest problems to fix because so many systems are interacting here...Roof,flashing,chimney,gas fireplaces,maybe even a furnace?

   Off the top of my head:

   1)Is the leak independent of rain---will it "leak" during good weather if the furnace or fireplaces are in operation?

   2)the mortar caps MAY be cracked all the way through,regaurdless of what the mason says.(who knows,I certainly don't)

   3) Chimneys can leak from the inside out.Rain can enter the top of the flue and migrate out into the house through some flue joints,gobs of mortar bridging the gap from flue to brick,and the brickwork and mortar joints themselves. Unlikely though . Chimney cap might help.

   4)You mentioned the problem became apparent last winter and after the chimney and roof work was complete every thing was fine untill this november.That would seem to coincide with the furnace and fireplace season.I would take a real look at the flues and also has a newer more efficient furnace been installed which exhausts lower temp,but moisture laden gasses?These could be your condensation.

   5) you mentioned I believe that the brickwork is saturated from the roof line up. furnace andfireplace exhausts may be condensing on the cold upper surfaces of the flues and chimney and migrating outward.are their any white marks or mineral deposits appearing on the outside of the brickwork? Was their any spalling involved on the old brickwork.. If the brickwork is saturated from the inside out,the brickwork enclosed by the flashing may have the moisture trapped behind the impervious torch down membrane where its only escape is back down into the house. The saturated brickwork above the flashing can have moisture evaporate in contact with the outside air(or freeze and spall)

   It's realy hard to say with out seeing the house,but I would GUESS that the problem is much more likely to have to do with the flues and condensation,than with the roofing.

   Fred L is usually pretty adept at these things ,maybe he has some ideas.

   If it is a flue problem a really good HVAC might have some solutions

   Glad its not my problem,good luck,stephen

2. 
   mark_Ryan | Dec 17, 1999 11:23am | #2

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   I have only being looking into this for about a week or 2
   so I am still gathering information. Recently had a bout of
   heavy rain which caused the the water stain in kitchen to
   increase in size and insulation around chimney in attic became completely saturated(this has now being removed). This occured with gas fireplaces turned off. Furnace was updated same time as fireplaces 8yrs prior. Chimney is looking more and more suspect.

   Mark

3. 
   mark_Ryan | Jan 05, 2000 05:40am | #3

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   Hi I am looking for help solving a problem for some friends. The couple live in a 35 yr old
   wood frame house in vancouver bc. Last winter they noticed water leaking down the side of their
   centraly located brick chimney and staining their main floor ceiling as well as showing up in the
   basement. They called in a roofing contractor who recomended replacing their original tar and gravel
   roof and have their chimney rebuilt from the roof line up because it was apparently severly cracked
   and falling down. A mason rebuilt the chimney with proper SW rated bricks and finished the top
   with a mortar cap. Then the roof was finished with a torch down roofing membrane. Everything has
   being fine up until this november when they noticed new water stains. The contractors said the
   problem was condensation and one of them wrapped the part of the chimney which is exposed in the
   attic(made from regular cement bricks) with bat insulation. When I inspected this insulation the
   top of the bat which was in contact with the framing was soaking wet. The rest of the insulation
   which was in contact with the chimney was dry. When I inspected the chimney above the roof
   the brick appeared to be saturated and the mortar cap was cracked. Their was about 3 or 4 cracks
   up to a foot or longer and up to 1/16 wide. The base of the chimney appears to be well protected
   with the torch on run up the chimney and good counter flashing. The mason beleives the problem
   is the two gas fireplaces and new windows that were installed 8 years ago are the problem. The
   fire places(which vent up 1 of the flues)apparently do not have any fresh air supply so they draw
   from the room. He beleives this is creating a movement of air which is leading to a condensation
   problem internaly in the chimney. He also says the cracks I see in his mortar cap do not go all
   the way thru and are not a problem. He says he does up to 40 chimney repairs a yr without any
   callbacks. Sorry to be so long winded but I wanted to make sure you had all the details. If anyone
   has any ideas I would appreciate it.

   M Ryan
   Carpentry Instructor
   UCFV