Brutal east-coast winters wreak havoc on chimneys. No matter how well-built a chimney is, it often isn’t up to the challenge of a bad winter. National Chimney Cleaners of Fairfield County, CT, and Morris County, NJ, would like to cover a few of the masonry repairs that typically need to be done for many chimneys during the summer.
First, why masonry repair is so importantDamaged chimney masonry is a serious problem for two reasons:
Chimney leaks: Compromises in the masonry structure can allow water into the system. Once inside, water can begin to further deteriorate bricks and mortar. It can also cause significant damage to the chimney liner and adjacent building materials of the home.
Structural safety risk: When bricks and mortar are decayed throughout the chimney, you could be looking at a complete or partial collapse, which can damage the roof and injure people and pets.
Masons who specialize in chimney repair can detect and replace any loose bricks in your chimney’s masonry. Bricks can be damaged by lightning, freeze-thaw cycles, hail storms and other events. If ignored, loose bricks can compromise the integrity of the chimney structure and allow water to regularly move into the system.
Tuckpointing is a process that removes deteriorated mortar and adds strong new mortar in its place. It’s common for chimney mortar to begin to fail long before the bricks fail. Your chimney is only as stable as its mortar, so tuckpointing is an important summertime masonry repair project.
When a chimney is seriously damaged by a weather event, repeated chimney fires, severe house settling or plain old age, it may need to be rebuilt. Chimney rebuilding can focus on sections of the chimney or the entire chimney. A proper inspection will tell your technician why the damage happened and how extensive it is. This way, only the necessary work will be done.
This isn’t actually a repair project, per se, but it’s a good preventative maintenance step. Most reputable chimney companies offer chimney waterproofing to dramatically reduce the chances of a leak and add more years of life to your chimney.
A note on chimney fires
Chimney fires happen more often than most people think. Not all fires are big, blazing events that light up your street with emergency response vehicles. Many chimney fires are relatively small and go out on their own, before anybody even knows they’ve happened. But even the smallest chimney fire can cause damage to interior areas of the chimney and eventually affect the chimney’s masonry.
Why summer is an ideal time to schedule chimney masonry workDuring the summer, chimney repair crews are typically not as busy as they will be in the fall and early winter. Late in the year, it seems like everybody wants to have last-minute chimney cleaning and repairs taken care of. This often leads to longer wait times for service. Your smartest move is to schedule a thorough chimney inspection during late spring or early summer. This way, if masonry or other types of repairs are needed, they can get done in plenty of time for the cold season. National Chimney Cleaners provides complete chimney masonry repair and rebuilding services throughout Fairfield County, CT, and Morris County, NJ. Call us any time your chimney needs attention. You can speak with a chimney expert at 800-631-6177 or contact us online.
