When your roof is showing signs of leaking, it’s only natural to call your local residential and commercial roofing contractors. But what do you do when it’s your chimney that’s leaking? Did you even know that chimneys can leak? First, yes, chimneys can leak and when they do, they can cause all sorts of damage both inside and outside your home. A well-installed chimney will have effective water barriers to prevent water from dripping down the chutes and leaking into your fireplace. Repairing a leaky chimney can also be a costly job, so it’s important to detect the problem early.
What Can Cause a Chimney to Leak?
Irregular or inadequate maintenance is the biggest cause of leaks in a chimney. It’s important to have your fireplace and chimney inspected and maintained at least twice a year. Another reason your chimney could leak are the brick and mortar itself. Bricks are porous by nature and, with enough humidity, vapor pressure can force water through the chimney walls and condense inside the chute. Book a brick repair* service as soon as you suspect that your chimney leak is coming from bricks themselves.
Watch Out for These Symptoms
It can be difficult to detect chimney leaks until after they’ve reached serious levels. Nevertheless, our experts recommend keeping an eye out for the following signs of a problem.
- Water and soot creates an ideal environment for mold and mildew to grow. Often, these growths can cause your chimney to smell like dirty laundry. If you suspect that these musty smells are coming from your chimney, contact your local chimney repair and gutter replacement contractor right away.
- When you see actual water dripping from your chimney, it’s definitely a sign that it’s leaking. Luckily, dripping water can make a unique echoing sound from inside the chutes so pay attention to loud dripping sounds coming from the chimney.
Keep your chimney and fireplace working great this winter with the help of our experts at Bone Dry Roofing. Call 877-BONE-DRY or fill out our contact form to schedule an appointment.