I’ve got myself a leaky chimney.
It had a furnace and water heater flue improperly installed and condensing water for god knows how many years.
If it rains we get water collecting in our fire box, which flows down into the basement and behind a finshed wall (!)
I’ve had any number of chimney guys out and they all point to different hypothesis (mostly flashing related). But after doing some water tests with our hose it seems that the water is coming through the mortar. There’s fine lines along many of the bricks where the mortar seems to have pulled away a hair. And many places where the mortars crumbled away entirely (which I’ve since tuck pointed). I can put a hose on several non roof areas of the chimney and within about 5 minutes water will be in the firebox.
So, tell me. About what would it cost to have a 25’ chimney re-tuckpointed?
Or is this something I could ever do myself? Am I gonna have to rob a bank to pay for this?
Much thanks. Hopefully I can figure this out before the next major rain storm.
I wish I could be more help, but my only advice would be that if you’re the slightest bit unconfident about this, hire a professional!
Water in brick & mortar is a killer. If it’s been happening for years you could be looking at a good deal of structural damage. Leaks are a tricky thing, but they have to be stopped fully and completely. “That’ll hold it for now” won’t cut it with leaks.
The majority of your problem probably is flashing related.
Of course, the gaps in the morter might add to the problem…
Get a professional, get a couple of bids. Get a guarantee.
You want this done right, because you’re talking about both resale value and fire/water hazard protection. If you don’t know what you’re doing, hire a pro. Many home improvement projects can indeed be done by the home owner, provided they are willing to take their time, listen to advice, and do it right. In this instance though, hire someone.
BTW, just to clear about something… flooding areas with a hose does indeed show where you may need to look, but, it’s relatively unrealistic test of the volume of water allowed in. A better test would be a fan spinkler nozzle at as low a pressure that will get you where you need to be. Shooting water up at it or flooding would actually mimic a very hazardous storm.
I seriously think you probably have two probs, morter and flashing. You might even have an improperly installed flue.
Pricing is too hard to guesstimate, not seeing the place to know exactly what is happening. But, if you get 3 to 5 bids, and most of them are similar, than the one that is very low or very high is probably a new comer to the field. Not that they couldn’t do a good job, mind you. Everyone has to start somewhere. But, after a while, a tradesperson/contractor knows where they need to be in regards to the industry standards.
I would argue with the last statement of NoClueBoy’s otherwise excellent post:
When discussing price, I think it’d be better said that a contractor knows where he needs to be in regard to the local market for his service.
Regarding industry standards, I would contend that a contractor may be vaguely aware of, roughly compliant with, or legal, depending on the ferocity of the local licensing and permitting authority.
Thanks for the info, noclueboy.
So far we’ve replaced the furnace so it wouldn’t vent up the chimney ($2,000)
Water kept coming.
Put a new roof on ($6,500)
Water keeps coming.
I’ve also chipped out and replaced about 60 verticle joints over the past 3 weekends.
Water keeps coming.
We have a high efficiancy water heater going in on Friday ($1,000)
That water’s gonna keep on coming, I know it.
From all indications my chimney is either:
A: The gateway to hell
or
B: Built on an indian burial ground.
We’ve had pretty terrible luck with contractors as of late.
If they return my calls I consider myself lucky. If they actually show up when they say they will to give me an estimate, I feel like I won the lottery.
I’ve even called a masonry supply place to see if they could recomend someone. He was a no-show, twice.
So, no guesstimates, huh? I understand. It’s hard to really get a grasp of what I’m dealing with in a few whiny paragraphs.
I’m just worried this will cost like 10 grand or something ridiculous that we couldn’t possibly afford. Hopefully someone semi-reputable will be able to help us out.
I haven’t seen your house, but the question that immediately comes to mind is whether you really need this chimney.
You’re already venting the furnace somewhere else, and it sounds like you’re planning to do the same with the water heater. If this chimney doesn’t serve anything else, I’d knock it down.
In our current house, both of the original chimneys were razed to just below the roofline. If you look in the attic you can still see the broken-off tops. The roof was repaired above each chimney. No more flashing, no more wicking mortar, no more leaks.
Our furnace and water heater are both power-vented through PVC outlets on the side wall.
Indeed, one has to wonder why we’re keeping the stupid thing.
At this point, I’d be happy to tear it down. In fact I’ve already let my mind wander quite a bit about tieing a rope around my bumper and giving it a good tug. Which, of course, would likely do nothing but F-up my transmission. But in my fondest dreams it comes tumbling down revealing a prestine, pre-shingled, pre-painted wall in it’s wake.
The wife, however, seems intent to keep it, because it presumably adds value to the house. Seems darkly ironic to me.
Anyone have thoughts on how much it’d cost to demo the chimney…?
Case of beer, a big hammer, and some time off work–shouldn’t cost much. The hard part is making sure none of the big, heavy bits (including yourself) fall to earth uncontrolled. Helps minimize further property damage.
Though I must say, your wife has a point. Look at the value this chimney has already added to the house: $6,500 for a roof, $2,000 for a furnace…