Chimney Care Company's Blog
Elements of a proper chimney crown
The chimney crown provides vital protection to the chimney structure. When properly constructed, the chimney crown channels water away from the chimney flue and prevents water from flowing down the outer walls of the chimney. Too often, chimney crowns have been improperly constructed from the wrong materials, leaving your chimney and fireplace at risk for water damage. Knowing the elements of a proper chimney crown can help you to ensure that your chimney and your home are protected.
Cement construction
Often, when chimneys are being constructed, builders will cut corners by using the same mortar that goes between the bricks to construct the chimney crown. This mortar is too weak to stand up to the elements, and it will crack and crumble quickly, leaving your chimney susceptible to water intrusion. Chimney crowns should be constructed of strong cement, which will hold up to wind, water and freezing temperatures to protect your chimney year after year.
Slope
The purpose of a chimney crown is to funnel water away from your chimney flue to protect the inside of your chimney and fireplace from water intrusion. To help direct water down and away from your chimney, the chimney crown should be sloped.
Overhang
Your chimney’s porous masonry can absorb water. Over time, that water can deteriorate the chimney materials and, eventually, the chimney structure. A simple overhang of the chimney crown can help to protect the exterior chimney walls from water. The underside of the overhang should have a groove around the parameter to prevent water from following the surface of the overhang and flowing onto the chimney walls.
Gap against the chimney flue
If your chimney flue contains a tile flue liner, the flue liner needs to be isolated from the chimney crown. Tile liners become extremely hot when the chimney is in use, and they can expand. The expanded liners put pressure on the chimney crown, which can cause cracks. The chimney crown should be constructed so that it does not touch the chimney liner, and the chimney liner should be surrounded with thin foam and then caulked with a specialized masonry caulking.
Flashing
Wherever there are seems in your home, whether around windows or doors, in your roofline or around your chimney, there needs to be flashing to seal the gaps and keep water out. Your chimney crown should be completed with a layer of flashing where the crown meets the top of the masonry chimney. The flashing will ensure that water cannot seep into the chimney between the chimney structure and the chimney crown.
If your chimney crown is letting water into your chimney and your home because it was improperly constructed or because it has deteriorating over time, call the Chimney Care Co. to schedule a consultation today! We can reconstruct your chimney crown the right way to ensure that your chimney and your home are protected from water damage.
4 Reasons Why You Need a Chimney Cap
A chimney cap can protect and preserve your chimney for years to come. It’s a must-have for your chimney.
Look up. Do you see a cap atop that chimney of yours? If not, here’s why you need to fix that A.S.A.P.:
- To keep ice and water out. Without a cap, a masonry chimney will take on—and even absorb—a great deal of water, which is damaging not only to the chimney itself but to all components of the chimney and the areas around your chimney—your walls, floors, and ceilings. A wet chimney will also be a stinky chimney. Read more about why chimneys and water don’t mix here.
- To keep animals and insects out. Unless you love the incessant sounds of skittering and tweeting, infestations of insects and vermin, and the smells of dead animals, you will want a chimney cap to keep all living creatures out of your chimney. Animals, of course, make nests, too, which can impede the flow of air through your chimney, causing drafting problems, and become a fire hazard.
- To keep debris and trash out. Chimneys are known to become receptacles for whatever the wind carries—be it leaves and branches, trash, golf balls, etc.; you name it, we’ve found it there. These things might seem inconsequential, but they can cause blockages in your chimney that lead to fire, smoke damage, and carbon monoxide poisoning.
- To keep sparks and embers in. Chimney caps are equipped with wire mesh that won’t allow sparks and large burning embers to pass through, though toxic gases and smoke will be able to exit freely. You will want to keep sparks and embers inside your chimney so that they don’t catch anything adjacent to your chimney on fire.
New Chimney Caps and Chimney Cap Repairs
If you already have your masonry chimney capped, but have a cap that’s seen better days, we may be able to repair your existing cap. And if you do end up needing a new cap, we can make sure you have the correct replacement cap and that it is properly installed so that you’ll never have to worry about water getting into your chimney again.
If you have a prefabricated fireplace, your chimney cap is called a “chase top.” It’s important to know that not just any chase cover will do. Manufactured chimneys must have the proper manufacturer-specified chimney cap. The Chimney Care Co., which serves homeowners in Cincinnati, Southwest Ohio, and Northern Kentucky, can locate the correct chase cover or chimney cap for your chimney.