Chimneys, a large percentage of homes have them. They provide a means of exhaust for our fireplaces, and free standing stoves. They usually protrude through the roof, or on the side of the house that still protrudes through the eaves area of the roof. That is why it's so important that they be flashed correctly, so the roof doesn't leak and damage the wood sheathing and even worse if it gets into the firebox.
This house is an older home built in the early 60's. It's in a historical section of town, 
surrounded by other homes of similar age. It has a wood burning masonry fireplace and chimney. Inspecting at ground level, I could see stains under the roof in the carport. It was dry, but it hadn't rained in a few days so I didn't know if it was an active leak or a past leak. When I got up on the roof, I could see immediately it was most
likely an active leak. There was no flashing around the chimney, it was merely roofing material turned up and glued to the chimney structure. It has pulled away, and there's a large gap between the roofing material and the chimney structure. There was even a ground wire running from the nearby satellite dish going into the crack... lazy installer!
Looking at the top of the chimney, you can see the chimney crown is cracked, there is no rain cap or spark arrestor. The clay lined flue was cracked, and in the firebox inside you could see the water damage caused by the lack of a rain cap, causing efflorescence in the 
firebrick inside.
Efflorescence is when water penetrates the brick or mortar and combines with the caustic materials in the porous concrete materials. It is a cosmetic problem, when it dries the white looking material left behind that is the salt that was inside the material, but can sometimes indicate internal structural weaknesses.
So, this baby needs a tuneup! In it's present condition, it is unsafe to use, for the neighbors too! No spark arrestor in a congested neighborhood with trees like this is a disaster waiting to happen.
They have some work to do...
****************************************************************************************************
Comments(27)