Chimney Leak Repair: what to know
Chimney leaks are frustrating because water rarely shows up where it enters. Rain can get in at the crown, run down inside the masonry and appear as a stain two floors below. It can slip under lifted flashing and travel along a rafter before dripping onto drywall. The homeowner sees the result; the cause is somewhere above, and there are usually several candidates.
Asset Roofing & Chimney specializes in finding where chimney water is actually coming from. We check the five usual suspects in order: the cap or lack of one, the crown, the flashing and counter-flashing, the condition of the brick and mortar, and the roof immediately around the stack. Because we do both roofing and masonry, we can fix whichever one turns out to be the problem rather than sending you to a second contractor.
If water is actively coming in, call us. Covering the flue opening and placing a bucket are reasonable stopgaps, but the longer water sits in masonry the more it damages, especially with a freeze coming. If the leak only appears in heavy, wind-driven rain, that is a clue in itself, and we will want to hear about it.
What chimney leak repair from Asset includes
- Leak diagnosis from the roof, the attic and the room where water appears
- Check of cap, crown, flashing, brick, mortar and surrounding roofing
- Water testing when the entry point is not obvious
- Repair of the actual source, whether masonry or roofing
- Temporary protection if the permanent repair must wait for weather
- Written explanation of what was leaking and what was done
- Recommendations to prevent a repeat, such as a cap or waterproofing
