Help!!!

mickydi

Have recently done huge job on old house ... stripped old plaster off ... drylined etc... We'd had problem with a damp area in one of the rooms at a blocked fireplace ... after very heavy rain ... & following the internal work we noticed that after a heavy fall of rain the wall at the chimney in 2 rooms (3 walls) showed patches of wet areas. So we had the chimneys & roof checked. Some of the slates needed replacing and we had all the chimneys replaced too. All done very reputable local builders. Recently though we have seen wet circles appear over the fireplace on one bedroom and on the wall where the fireplace used to be in the adjacent room. These are discolouring the light coloured wall in one of the rooms (other darK) and are wet to touch. These show after any rain & after heavy rain there are beads of moisture on them ... & if there is a dry spell they begin to dry out. The builder has come back to look at the roof again but both he & my husband went onto roof & into roof space & cannot see any problems. He surmises that it is the rainfall down the chimney ... the problem is quite bed & as we head into winter will get worse. We haven't seen this before & have lived her for 20yrs ... it's very disappointing after doing so much to improve the place!! Any suggestions re how to deal with it appreciated. We live in an old victorian house.

No6

Mickydi, if you havn't already you should line the flue's with a flexible flue liner, How much of the chimney's did you replace all of them or just over roof level? If its the second the water is going down the flue and lodging somewhere in the older part of the chimney and coming out through wall. When the fire is used regurarly in the winter this will not happen as the heat will dry the water but as this summer has been more like a very wet winter and you probably havn't used the fire as much.

I would also cap any flues that are not being used. Flue liners are not terribly expensive I had two done on my house several years ago for about a grand in punts!!

mickydi

Thanks ... will look into that. Will have to see where can find 'nice' caps & bigger than normal too as the chimney pots are old and above usual size.

sooty_soupy

Have a check and make sure the chimneys have no nesting material as bird nests can cause havoc. The material acts like a bloody big sponge and holds damp against the wall. I have been a registered chimney technician for about 20 years here in the North and have seen it loads of times.

Are the chimneys being used? if not are they all blocked off below. Often if an old fireplace has been removed, the hole is normally blocked off permanently which prevents air movement. An air brick or grill is a good idea rather than bricking and plastering the entire hole. Your chimney needs to breath.Forget about lining the chimneys unless you are planning on using them often. Fit ventilated caps and ensure they are siliconed to the pots so rainwater can not be channelled down into the chimney defeating the purpose of the caps.

Hope this helps

Best regards

David