The Reality of a Leaking Chimney
In Pennsylvania, moisture is one of your chimney’s worst enemies. The winter freeze/thaw cycle causes severe damage to your chimney. A leaking chimney is one that is deteriorating constantly. This is not something to ignore or you may need extensive masonry work on your chimney.
Here’s What Happens
Most chimneys are constructed with brick, a porous material held together by mortar, a water-soluble material. The inside of the chimney is composed of metal, a material that’s highly susceptible to rust. Recurring exposure to moisture severely compromises a chimney’s performance and structural integrity. Water is known for causing damage you cannot see. When you finally see missing mortar joints, water stains on the ceiling, broken bricks and large masonry cracks, etc. the water damage is already in an advanced state of deterioration.
What to Do
If you hear or see water dripping into the firebox, streaking down the firebox wall, from the ceiling, or where your fireplace resides, call us immediately! We cannot stress this strongly enough, as water leaks can potentially cause you hundreds, if not thousands of dollars in repairs to the chimney system. The sooner the issue is addressed, located, and stopped, the better it is for you and your family, not to mention your chimney.
If you call a roofer and he tells you he can’t find anything leaking on the roof, call us! Roofing companies know roofing. We know chimneys and we know what the common issues are when it comes to leaks in and around the chimney. Please do not misunderstand- we work very closely with many roofing companies in Central Pennsylvania. However, just as we are not expert roofers and would never try to fix something we do not have expertise in, you should never call a roofer to fix a chimney leakage problem. We are chimney leak experts and we alone are qualified to resolve your leaking chimney.