Chimney Damp Issue - Price & Solution

TopGunner1978

Hi all,

We have been in our Victorian end of terrace now for a year now and have noticed some damp patches on 1st floor bedrooms chimney breasts and ground floor chimney breasts.

We have had 3 quotes.

First 2 quotes say the same thing "lead flashing repair work, re-cement and seal around stack on roof etc etc" with no real proof, more guess work if you ask me as both roofers were a little puzzled what the root cause could be but work would cost about £300.

The 3rd quote was to take off chimney at the roof for around £1K. He also mentioned that he was sure that it was to do with the chimney felt lining and another solution would be to out back the fire places.

Anyone care to advise please?

Thanks.

jc808

easiest solution is to repair any broken flashing etc round the stacks and install vents in each fireplace and at the top of the stack

j

dinofabio

TopGunner1978 wrote: »

Hi all,

We have been in our Victorian end of terrace now for a year now and have noticed some damp patches on 1st floor bedrooms chimney breasts and ground floor chimney breasts.

We have had 3 quotes.

First 2 quotes say the same thing "lead flashing repair work, re-cement and seal around stack on roof etc etc" with no real proof, more guess work if you ask me as both roofers were a little puzzled what the root cause could be but work would cost about £300.

The 3rd quote was to take off chimney at the roof for around £1K. He also mentioned that he was sure that it was to do with the chimney felt lining and another solution would be to out back the fire places.

Anyone care to advise please?

Thanks.

I had a similar problem in a house I lived in a few years ago. Penetrating damp on the chimney breasts.

I capped the chimney (to stop the rain getting in), but still allows ventilation, and then put a trickle vent in the breast.

Problem disappeared for me. Cheap job

Find out the cause first before you start doing expensive unnecessary work.

The main reason people have damp in the chimneys is water ingress (rain) and because the original fire is no longer in use, the chimney doesn't dry out.


BTW if the chimney bricks haven't extensively spalled why would you need to remove?

muckybutt

Are the chimneys open ? regardless of wether the chimney is in use or not, chimneys should never be totally blocked off.

Not allowed to breath chimneys suffer badly with damp, if unused then they should have a chimney cap put on the top of the pot, then where the fire place is a board over the front of the fire place or in the chimney itself along with a ventilation hole to allow air to flow through the chimney.

Rather than a builder I suggest you look for a NACS registered chimney sweep who will be able to correctly identify what the cause is and will advise on the best course of repair.

TopGunner1978

The chimney's are capped so there is air flow from the top.

Also in the 2 bedrooms there are vents (inside in the house) and in 1 of the downstairs room there is a vent also.

All fireplaces were removed long before we moved in.

Deffo seems to be from water ingress but out of the 3 quotes no one has confirmed where the water is getting in.

Our outter wall isn't rendered but the pointing is good.

I guess I keep getting people round until the root cause can be found.

TopGunner1978

jc808 wrote: »

easiest solution is to repair any broken flashing etc round the stacks and install vents in each fireplace and at the top of the stack

j

Flashings appear ok, 1 roofer suggesting improving the flashing and applying new mortar to the stack but he wasn't very convincing.

BuildingFife

Cap any open chimneys & of any fireplace's have been removed and plasters over make sure their is vents in the chimney breasts somewhere as this is often over looked and is normally the first cause for damp in the chimney walls.

TopGunner1978

BuildingFife wrote: »

Cap any open chimneys & of any fireplace's have been removed and plasters over make sure their is vents in the chimney breasts somewhere as this is often over looked and is normally the first cause for damp in the chimney walls.

Chimneys are capped and we have vents in all breasts throughout the 4 rooms (2 upstairs 2 downstairs).

dinofabio

Are the caps correctly fitted? If so there should be little or no water ingress

check your vents are clear - they can get blocked.

Make sure there is no debris in the stack -

BuildingFife

TopGunner1978 wrote: »

Chimneys are capped and we have vents in all breasts throughout the 4 rooms (2 upstairs 2 downstairs).

What method has been used to cap off the chimneys? They should not be sealed of completely at the top, they should have a vented cowl (GC1's are a cheap effective vented option) to allow a consistent airflow in the chimney these are also great for minimizing wind noise but aren't suitable if you decide to use the chimneys for multifuel fires of any form & are only suitable for Gas.

If you do have a vented capping method then the chimney pointing & lead flashing around the base of the chimney would definitely be the next place to look. I'd advice you phone a couple roofers and request they go on the roof to assess the situation, if they don't and just speculate then I wouldn't advise using them and to look a little further.

TopGunner1978

BuildingFife wrote: »

What method has been used to cap off the chimneys? They should not be sealed of completely at the top, they should have a vented cowl (GC1's are a cheap effective vented option) to allow a consistent airflow in the chimney these are also great for minimizing wind noise but aren't suitable if you decide to use the chimneys for multifuel fires of any form & are only suitable for Gas.

If you do have a vented capping method then the chimney pointing & lead flashing around the base of the chimney would definitely be the next place to look. I'd advice you phone a couple roofers and request they go on the roof to assess the situation, if they don't and just speculate then I wouldn't advise using them and to look a little further.

Thanks for response @BuildingFife!

The chimneys are capped with cowl on each chimney pot.

2 of the builders have been up and suggested chimney pointing and lead flashing but they just weren't overly convincing as they were very quick to state if it doesn't fix the issue don't hold it against them!

Both quotes are around the £300 mark, sound reasonable?