Compromise is sometimes necessary when it comes to chimney work. The needs of the chimney frequently compete with what is able to be accomplished or afforded. In this case, significant repair was needed, but crown seal and chimney caps were all that was desired. The homeowner was selling their home and only looking to keep things from getting worse for the buyers.
If you look at the before pictures, we can see a number of issues all pertaining to water entry into the chimney. Lack of chimney caps. Cracks in the crown. Loose and open mortar joints. Damaged and spalling bricks. Lack of proper waterproofing (indicated by the discoloration of mortar and bricks). When these issues are allowed to go on, it leads to the damage you can see here. What this chimney really needs is a partial rebuild, a new crown with overhanging edge, chimney caps, and proper water proofing.
The ideal repairs were not an option, however, and we instead were tasked with keeping the damage from spreading. We got set up, performed the crown seal using a thick coat of Chimney Saver Crown Coat, and then installed three new stainless steel chimney caps with lifetime warrantees.
Sealing the crown and installing caps cannot undo what has already deteriorated, but they can prevent water entry through these two main avenues. Caps alone can help prevent thousands of dollars of damage from water entering the home (at the ceiling and/or firebox area). Not to mention how rain deteriorates the interior flue liner and potentially makes the fireplace unsafe to use.
Hopefully one day we can return to this poor chimney and give it the proper repairs in needs. If we could turn back the clock and do this preventative maintenance sooner, we would have avoided this extent of damage.
