A lot of people have a notion that a chimney made of brick or stone doesn't need any kind of upkeep. They picture these materials as being extremely tough and able to take care of themselves. Unfortunately, this is not really the case, and these homeowners eventually find themselves faced with crumbling mortar and disintegrating chimneys. Most of this damage is caused by water. Being on the outside of your house the way it is, a chimney withstands a lot of bad weather conditions, from hurricane-force winds to torrential rain to raging blizzards. Chimney waterproofing is an important step in preserving the integrity of your structure.
Your chimney is the most vulnerable area of your house, because it sticks up above the top of the roof line and has no protection. This vulnerability can result in staining, freeze-thaw damage, loss of insulation value, structural deterioration, and ultimately complete failure of the chimney altogether. Therefore, you can see that it's far easier to do preventive maintenance before any problems occur than it is to clean up the mess afterward. There are a number of good waterproofing sealers available that you can coat your chimney with from the very beginning that will help it stay in good repair.
If your chimney has already begun to deteriorate, you need to start by taking a good look at what's going wrong with it. Check to make sure that all of your mortar joints are in good repair. If they haven't been treated with water sealer before, they could be cracking and breaking. Even if a previous owner did use a waterproofing product, there could still be problems if the wrong type was used. Certain sealers cause water vapors to be trapped under the coating. This causes wear on the mortar. If your mortar is in bad enough shape that it is actually falling apart, you may need to have some tuckpointing done prior to using an appropriate waterproofing agent.
Your chimney is an important part of your house, and you need to spend time maintaining it just like you do anything else. A good water sealer only needs to be used every five to ten years, so it isn't a job that has to be done very often. Although waterproofing sealants aren't cheap, the price you have to pay for chimney waterproofing will be a whole lot less than if you have to completely rebuild your chimney. In addition, keeping your chimney in prime condition will help you maintain the value of your largest investment, your home.
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