Mother nature isn’t kind to your chimney. Over the years, the weather can take a serious toll on your chimney. A couple of the most devastating elements your chimney faces is water and ice. If water is allowed inside your chimney, there are a variety of problems that it could cause. These include the deterioration of masonry, staining, and bad odors.
With the many issues that water can cause, wouldn’t you want to protect your chimney any way that you can? Fortunately, when your chimney was constructed, a chimney crown was probably installed as well. A chimney crown is your first line of defense against rain, snow, and sleet. At Northeastern Masonry and Chimney, we want to explain the importance of your chimney crown as well as why it needs to be maintained.
What is a chimney crown?
A chimney crown is located at the very top of your chimney. Structurally, it is simply a slope that built along the top of your chimney that deflects rain and snow away from your chimney flue opening. If constructed properly, your crown should be able to deflect a lot of the rain away from your flue. Your chimney crown doesn’t cover your chimney flue, however, so your chimney crown works with your chimney cap or chase cover to offer total rain, snow, and sleet protection.
Leaky chimney crown
Due to your chimney crown’s location on the top of the chimney, it is exposed to all the elements. Constant exposure to water, ice, sun, and heat causes your chimney crown to deteriorate more quickly than other parts of your chimney system. This can cause your chimney crown to start cracking and loosening from the chimney. Because of its location, your chimney crown may not be easy to inspect. Unfortunately, you may not know you have an issue with your chimney crown until you notice chimney leaking. The best way to avoid chimney crown leaking is to keep up with your annual chimney inspections.
Repairing your chimney crown
At Northeastern Masonry and Chimney, we get called out to perform chimney crown repairs regularly. If your chimney crown only has minor cracks and leaking, we may be able to use a product called CrownSeal. CrownSeal will seal your crown, allowing it to function properly again. If there is more extensive damage to your chimney crown, our expert masons can build you a new one.
The longer water is allowed to get into your home, the more damage it will cause. If you think that your chimney crown may be cracked or loosening, don’t hesitate to get a hold of one of our CSIA-certified chimney sweeps for an inspection and repair today.