Diagnosing water problems on your chimney
We diagnose and repair water related problems with chimneys, so if you see water damage staring to occur (white streaks, water in places it should'nt  be) give us a call. Listed are some water related problems and possible causes:

Water inside the firebox
If you notice the inside of your firebox is wet after a rain storm then the most like cause will be a uncapped chimney or chimney with a improperly sized cap. The fix will be quite simple, install a properly sized cap to keep water from entering the flue.

Water stains on the ceiling above the hearth
If stains are developing above your fireplace on the ceiling then the most common place for water to be leaking is the flashing between the roof and your chimney. In most cases the problem can be solved using a flash Seal product from SaverSystems.

White streaks appearing on the outside of the chimney
Problem is caused from water liquefying the minerals in the mortar causing them to leach out to the surface. This can be from rain being absorbed on the out side or from moisture evaporating from inside your chimney to the exterior walls. If the white streaks are from the chimney absorbing water on the exterior the solution is to apply a water proofing product to stop the absorption. If caused from moisture on the inside the problem could be a damaged or improperly size flue. The first step is to inspect your chimney to determine where the moistures is coming from.

Bricks cracking and falling off the chimney
The problem is that your brick are absorbing water and then during normal freeze/thaw cycles the bricks are breaking apart and falling off. The solution is to apply a waterproofing to the chimney exterior. Waterproofing will prevent water penetrating your chimney and the cracking and flaking of the bricks. Northern Chimney will apply a waterproofing coating to the outside of the chimney that will reduce water penetration into the masonry by 99%, and it is also vapor permeable, which means it wont trap water vapors when the chimney is in use. Waterproofing your chimney gives an added layer of protection to add life to your system.

Water stains on the mantel or the face of the fireplace
One possible problem could be water entering through cracks in the crown. To fix this we would depending on the damage either rebuild the entire crown, or seal the crown with a product from SaverSystems.