If you have been putting off any repairs on your chimney, now may be the time to have the work done. Spring is an excellent time to schedule chimney repair, especially before summertime thunderstorms hit if you need the chimney waterproofed. This also holds true if your chimney is leaking, because the spring and summer rains will cause more damage. Here are 5 things that can cause your leaky roof:

  1. If you do not have a chimney cap or cover, then the rain will fall right down into your chimney. This may be okay every once in a while, but over time it will cause the bricks and mortar to fall apart and crumble.
  2. The crown around your chimney can become cracked and chipped over time from all of the water that ends up on your roof. Once the crown has become damaged like this, water can find its way down into the inside of your chimney.
  3. No one ever thinks of condensation when they are talking about their chimneys. However, condensation can build up inside a chimney and then spread throughout the rest of your house.
  4. If you are finding water in your attic space near the chimney, then damaged flashing is to blame. The flashing is supposed to keep the water from getting between the chimney and the roof, however, over time a gap can form between the flashing and the chimney or the flashing gets damaged in another way.
  5. Leaking bricks is the last cause that we will be talking about. Water can get inside the cracks in bricks and that water will spread to other bricks over time. All of this water can then get inside your chimney and cause damage.

All of these problems can be fixed, but once they are, we recommend that you go a step further and waterproof your chimney. We always recommend using ChimneySaver products for waterproofing, because the end results are fantastic.

If you know that your chimney has water damage, the time to get it fixed is now. The repair bill is only going to get more expensive the longer you wait. Plus, if you wait too long, you may have a bigger problem, especially if the water damage is so severe that your chimney collapses onto your house.

Lou Curley’s Chimney Service is a local, family-owned and operated company with two CSIA Certified Chimney Sweeps to better serve homeowners along the Main Line. Give us a call at 610-626-2439 to schedule an appointment for a chimney cleaning or inspection. Also follow us on Facebook for even more great information about keeping your chimney safe for years to come.