Leaking roof due to antique bricks?

11 years ago

Good morning! We are having a problem with our new home (been in for a year now... but I'm hoping the collective wisdom here that I learned so much from during our building process will be able to help me a year later).

Background: our house is almost entirely hardi plank siding, but we have a section of old Virginia brick on the front facing gable and all three chimney stacks.

Not long after we moved in, we developed a roof leak that ended up leaking through the family room ceiling before we were aware of the problem. At first, we thought it was a flashing problem on the chimney that goes through the roof for the back porch chimney, our builder checked it out, had the flashing people come out, they checked everything, but pointed out to the builder that they could tell what the problem was when they were driving up: there was a large wet spot on the side of one of the chimney stacks- our antique bricks were absorbing water they said. Wetness was also observed on the other two stacks, as well.

The builder had people come out to "seal" the bricks and we were told we would likely need to repeat the sealing every five years or so. That was in June. Last night, my husband thought he heard dripping water, went into the attic, and found it was leaking again via one of the chimney stacks (the same offending chimney stack that led to the biggest leak last time).

We have called the builder, who is coming out to see about it today. But I wondered if anyone here has any experience with this issue and can offer any advice or knowledge relevant to this issue. If further information is needed from me, please let me know and I will try to provide it.

Thanks so much for your help.

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Comments (2)

worthy
11 years ago
All bricks absorb water; all brick walls let wind-driven water through. Proper construction techniques provide for a drainage plane behind brick veneer or between multiple wythes. Silicone sealants will destroy old bricks; other types are less harmful. Here's a primer on the main causes of chimney leaks.

(I have no connection to nor experience with the commercial sponsor.)
cvazqu thanked worthy
yellowducky
11 years ago
We had the same problem with our new build. We have an exterior chimney stack that intersects with the porch roof, and is of course, attached to the house in the living room. There was a huge water spot in the face of the chimney that was under the covered porch. - and a huge puddle of water every time it rained hard right in the middle of the porch. The water was also dripping at the edge of the fireplace inside. We had outside people come in to confirm that all flashing/roofing/porch transitions were sealed correctly, and they said it was the best they had seen.

The consensus was that it was the brick or the mortar joints absorbing/leaking water.

So, we sprayed a liquids sealer on it, Chimney Saver. So far, no leaks. My husband sprayed it himself, and since we are still under construction, we could leave one portion open where the original leaking was occurring. Not a drop. It has only been a couple of months, but it's been a super wet winter here.

I would ask which product they used on your chimney, and whether it was just painted on the brick, or sprayed over the brick and mortar joints? The directions say to allow it to 'soak' into the brick. It shouldn't be sprayed quickly, and my husband found that his coverage rate was not as much as the product said on the bottle. We plan to re spray again later in the year, mainly for peace of mind.

My husband was about to drive himself crazy trying to figure out how to stop that water - so sorry you are dealing with it again.
cvazqu thanked yellowducky
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