Waterproofing & Why It's Important

Flashing exists to stop water that runs down the outside of the chimney getting into the inside of your roof and walls. If you're seeing a drip down the inside, coming from the place where the smoke is supposed to go up, then it doesn’t have anything to do with the flashing; it is instead wind finding ways to push raindrops into openings that the cap would shelter under less extreme conditions.

Although chimney caps are designed to keep out rain and critters, they can't fight the occasional sideways rain drop or snow build up that’s melting. The little amount of water that enters the chimney from those atmospheric anomalies won't hurt a thing.

Some people have problems with their chimney cap, when it isn’t set up for sideways rain. It is possible that a different cap is needed.

Smoke is supposed to go up, rain is supposed to come down. Sometimes there's enough wind where these rules don't work.

A flashing problem would typically show up on adjacent surfaces like wood, ceiling, walls et cetera.

Brick and connecting mortar are porous. Older bricks are more porous than newer which in a lot of cases have a different method of firing to dry them which can make them less likely to absorb water.

A light rain may not sink into your bricks but when have heavy rain this would allow them to become saturated and once they have reached a maximum level of absorbtion the water would move freely. Imagine a sponge that holds water but once full if you lift it out of the water it drips.

Brick and Mortar Are Porous

If you notice water leaking through your chimney but you know everything else is in good condition, then your brick and mortar joints are most likely the culprit. You must get them repaired as soon as possible because if the leaking continues, your chimney's structural integrity is at stake.

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Waterproofing & Why It's Important

Brick and Mortar Are Porous

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