You rely on your chimney for appropriate ventilation in the fireplace. However, the chimney should protect your home from any elements in the outside world. If you notice that your chimney seems leaking when it is raining outside, you might need a chimney inspection. This is especially true if there is a water spot that you can see on the ceiling. Even a minor leak leads to a lot of damage. That is why you should understand the causes of why your chimney might be leaking.

Read this article until the end to find out more.

Rain is Going in from the Top

It is not difficult to imagine that. Chimneys that do not have covers gather a lot of rain that falls down inside them. A chimney cover is sensible to a lot of people. This will keep the rain out, and even the birds, animals, and debris. The greatest chimney cover value is about keeping them out since chimneys can get blocked at the bottom. Hence, people can get sick or die from CO poisoning. Even if it is true that your uncovered flue is why you have water problems, it is most likely because the metal is thin and it leads to a leaking chimney.

Rusty Top

From the top of your chimney, you will have a chase top that keeps water from going straight down into your chimney when it is raining. It will have an entire cute in the middle for the spark arrester and chimney pipe for it to go through. Caulk will be used to seal it.

In case the middle part of the chase is lower than the steel panel, it will hold water. This is going to lead to water that comes into the chimney since the chase top will rust through. The chase top can also leak because of the caulk that is failing around the hole and the chimney pipe and spark arrestor goes through.

Cracks in the Crown

The chimney crown is on the top of the chimney. The bricks go around those flue liners, but from the top, you will require something that will stop the rain and snow from going to the tiles. You will see that the main purpose of the chimney crown is to keep the rain away. Cracks can happen because of when the structure shifts or from the shrinkage that dates back to the first day when the crown was put on. When there are big cracks in the crown, the water will go through those cracks right away.

Roof Flashing Problem

Roof flashing is the thin metal that is installed to direct water away from certain parts of the roof, which includes your chimney. The chimney could be leaking because of flashing when it is not installed properly. When this is the case, there is nothing that keeps the water from going inside and it goes into your home.

Another reason is that you would have to rely on the workmanship warranty of the contractor or you can call a different roofer so they can come and properly reflash your chimney.

If the roof flashing is at the end of its lifespan or it becomes damaged, it needs to be replaced so the leak can be fixed.

You will need to hire chimney contractors from Ellicott City to get a leaking chimney fixed and you can live peacefully again.