How to Maintain and Repair Your Chimney

Brand your chimney last for decades with a few hours of simple maintenance

Time

A few hours

Complexity

Intermediate

Introduction

Cracks and spalling in a brick chimney tin can get worse fast, merely the fix is easy if you do it in fourth dimension. 2 pros share maintenance tips that will go along your chimney solid for the life of the firm.

Tools Required

Materials Required

  • Brushable crown sealer
  • Chimney cap
  • Disposable gloves
  • Duct tape
  • Water repellent

Chimney nuts

Chimney inspection

cracks Family Handyman

The cracks in this chimney crown have reached a critical point. If non sealed soon, they'll destroy the crown and eventually the chimney.

Most homeowners never think near masonry chimney maintenance beyond the occasional flue cleaning. But ignoring your chimney can cost you big-fourth dimension. A cracked chimney crown or spalling bricks can hands toll $ane,000 to repair. And, if left untreated, the damage tin can accelerate quickly, and price you upward of $3,000.

It doesn't accept to be that way. By simply sealing the bricks and the crown and adding a chimney cap, you'll greatly extend your chimney's life. The materials cost less than $300, and you can complete all three procedures in just a few hours. You'd pay a pro virtually $1,000 to do all three, so the savings is huge.

You lot'll have to climb upwards on your roof twice (once to measure the flue liner to order the right chimney cap and once to perform the procedures). And, you must exist able to safely achieve the chimney crown from your roof. If you lot can't reach the chimney crown, accept a very steep roof pitch or aren't comfortable working on your roof, phone call a pro. If you decide you can handle the heights, make sure you habiliment a safe harness.

Meet the Pros

Family Handyman

Jim Smart has owned Smart Sweep Chimney Service for 14 years. He and his son, Jesse, are certified professional chimney sweeps. Together, this father/son team inspects, cleans and repairs chimneys in the Minneapolis-St. Paul expanse. In improver to his chimney sweep certifications, Jim holds a certificate in forensic chimney fire assay. In other words, Jim understands how chimneys piece of work and fail. He'south a pro's pro.

Projection Details

Brushable crown sealer, $60

Chimney water repellent, $35

Garden pump sprayer, $35

Stainless steel chimney cap, $125

Tarps, duct tape, paintbrush

Project step-by-step (iv)

Step i

Start at the chimney crown

Apply the outset coat of chimney sealer by paw

sealer

Scoop upwards a handful of the sealer and wipe it onto the crown. Force the sealant into the cracks and into the crown-to-brick seam.

Stride two

Even out the chimney sealer

brush

Stroke the wet sealant with a brush to level the high and low spots and create a smooth surface.

Masonry chimneys are capped with a mortar 'crown' to preclude water from getting behind the bricks and alongside the flue, and into the house. Over time, normal expansion and contraction cycles can crusade cracks to form, equally shown higher up. Sealing the chimney crown with crown sealer, a flexible elastomeric coating, is the best manner to terminate existing cracks from spreading and prevent new ones.

Choose a articulate or overcast twenty-four hour period for the projection (no rain in the forecast for at least 4 hours). Prepare the crown by cleaning it with a strong poly or nylon castor. Fill up any large cracks with patching cement or 100 percent silicone caulk (they'll cure fifty-fifty after you apply the crown sealer).

Next, wrap duct tape all around the crown near 1/iv in. below the edge of the crown-to-brick seam. Press the tape into the vertical brick joints. Then tape around each flue liner ane in. above the crown. Lay sail (not plastic) tarps around the base of the chimney to protect the shingles from crown sealer drips.

Our chimney repair adept applies crown sealer past manus and then he can force it into cracks and get the first coat done faster. If you choose that method, just sideslip on a disposable glove and apply the sealer (Photo 1). (1 brand is Chimney RX Brushable Crown Repair; sold past the gallon at saversystems.com) Embrace the entire crown and so smooth it with a paintbrush (Photo ii). Wait until the sealer dries tacky to the touch, then apply a second coat with a castor. Clean up with water.

Step iii

Seal the chimney bricks

Spray the brick with water repellent

Spray

Beginning at the bottom of the chimney and spray the brick until the excess repellent runs down near 8 in. below the spray line. Work your way up to the top. Apply a second coat within five minutes using the same technique.

Once the crown sealer feels dry to the touch (thirty to hour), remove the duct record but go out the roof tarps in place. So mask off whatsoever painted chimney flashings before applying the h2o repellent. Spray on the repellent (one brand is Chimney RX Masonry Chimney H2o Repellent; sold at saversystems.com) with a low-force per unit area, garden pump sprayer (Photograph 3).

Step 4

Finish it off with a chimney cap

Install the cap

cap

You don't want animals getting into your chimney. Set the cap (see chimney cap cost above) over the flue liner and secure it with screws. Tighten until snug, simply no more. Excessive force per unit area can fissure the clay liner.

A chimney cap keeps water and critters out of your flue and extends flue life. Many codes require a mesh cap, so check before buying. Chimney good Jim Smart recommends spending actress to get a stainless steel cap because it volition last much longer than the galvanized blazon. I source for stainless steel caps is efireplacestore.com

You'll need the outside dimensions of the flue liner to get the correct size cap for your chimney. Then install it on the flue liner (Photograph 4).

Originally Published: February 28, 2022