I have a chimney that has leaked many years

Cathie whitt
by Cathie whitt

We fix the roof, ceiling, then it leaks again. We replaced the shingle roof once and have now replaced it with a metal roof. And it cont to leak off and on. The chimney is large and in the middle of the roof. It is block with Coranodo stone.

  7 answers
  • Kelli L. Milligan Kelli L. Milligan on Sep 28, 2018

    How frustrating. I'm sure you had all the flashing looked at by a chimney co.

    • See 1 previous
    • Janet Janet on Oct 14, 2018

      We had the same problem and we finally had the entire chimney rebuilt. It was the small chimney for the furnace. The other chimney to the fireplace only needed new flashing and the top of the chimney recemented and new caps installed. No more leaks.

  • John Ed Farris John Ed Farris on Sep 29, 2018

    your problem is one if three things. Either your brick work is cracked, your morter is cracked or eroded, or you dont have proper flashing to seal between chiminey and roofing. more than likely its the flashing or the morter. it may require some morter replacement, or could be a simple fix using silicone caulk.

    • See 2 previous
    • Cathie whitt Cathie whitt on Oct 10, 2018

      The chimney goes straight up.

      There is a fireplace on the first floor in the sitting/dinning room. The back of the chimney is the wall in the kitchen. Itā€™s about

      9ā€™ wide and 3ā€™ deep. The kitchen is open with a steep ceiling which goes the the back of the chimney where it goes through the roof. Another fireplace in the same chimney in the upstairs great room. Most of the leaking at present is at the low end of the roof . The 9ā€™width is parallel with the ridge of the roof, so the fast runoff runs into the 9ā€™ width. The main leak now is the lt side looking from the outside at the chimney . Although it has leaked all around at one time or the other. It now runs down the chimney and down the ceiling.

      the next most common leak was the front of the chimney upstairs

      All around a big problem!

  • Prelude Prelude on Sep 29, 2018

    Your question caught my eye, because I was with my nephew last week while he was having a home inspection performed on a perspective purchase. The unused chimney/fireplace was leaking, and moisture was behind the living room wall. All sorts other issues attributed to the chimney. In his case, while the chimney looked fine from the outside, the homeowner tried to fix issues himself but didn't do a sufficient job. In his case chimney has actually moved and is structurally unsound and will need expensive repairs or removal.


    You have a beautiful home. John gave excellent advice. Also I just googled and read a very explanatory article dated 9/2018 on DIY Tips for how to find and repair chimney leaks on a website called improvenet.com. You may not be able to repair it yourselves, but it may help to pinpoint the area of the leak. Finding the origin area of roof water leaks (as you probably already know) can be mind-blowing

  • Janet Coryell Smither Janet Coryell Smither on Sep 29, 2018

    The roofing company should have installed flashing correctly. Call them to come back and check. If it's not the flashing, call a chimney company and have them repoint the mortar. You also need to check the chimney at the top to be sure it's not leaking from the there. I'd install a chimney cap as well, if you don't have one--it may be such a large opening that you are getting water from there. You can also check to see if the chimney has been relined--if it's just open stone all the way down, that may be part of the problem. But if it's the ceiling, most likely it's flashing or mortar joints, imho.

  • Redcatcec Redcatcec on Sep 29, 2018

    Yes, John has hit it right on the causes of your problem, a thorough inspection of the entry point area of your roof is needed.

    Start at the very peak of the roof and see if there is something that would indicate (such as a softened area of the actual roof) that could allow water to enter, follow the flow is there is 1 from that point to the high area of the chimney (roof peak side) where it meets the roof, water will seep in at the weakest physical point and drain down, then do as John said.

    Best to you and your beautiful home.

  • Galen W. Yoder Galen W. Yoder on Sep 30, 2018

    Does the chimney have an adequate cricket on the high side of the chimney. Has the masonry ever been sealed on a regular basis. (usually a clear sealer with water proofing ingredients.) Its to bad you opted for a metal roof! They are more prone to leaking around any roof penetration, chimneys, vent pipes,etc., and if you are going to try to clean or repair,you will never be able to be on the roof with any kind of surface moisture without some sort of mechanical assistance. Make sure your insurance is up to date if you are going to attempt. Has the current flashing-( hopefully not galvanized-Galvanized metal and masonry does have a good life expectancy!-The metal will loose.), but back to my point-Has the existing flashing been counter-flashed. One other point in regards to stone work/masonry. Not long ago I was asked to do repairs on wood sash window frames and exterior trim that was surrounded by stone work. The very expensive home had an exterior look that made you feel like you were in the Swiss Alps or a European ski resort. The windows that had the most water damage all had the same basic problem- the large stone work mortar joints all ran the water directly towards the windows or doors. The stone work was truly beautiful, but water travels best down hill and the most damage was caused where the stone and mortar crevices channeled the water directly towards the window and door trim! It will be a continual maintenance problem for that home.

  • John Ed Farris John Ed Farris on Oct 14, 2018

    Perhaps it isnt the chiminey thats leaking. Roof leaks are notorious for being hard to locate. Water often will tavel many feet, sometimes even to the other side, before dripping or running down. You may want to check the metal roof seams "upstream" from the chiminey. The water may be getting in elsewhere and not appearing until it comes to the chiminey and runs down. I would buy a case of clear 100% silicone caulk and hit a dab at anything suspicious.