Roofing

why is my chimney still leaking?!

Anonymous user 09/03/2024 - 3.36 PM

Hi I really hope someone can help with this; we had the chimney breasts removed a couple of years ago up into the loft space and ever since we have had water dripping down into the loft from the underside of the remainder of the chimney stack. We've had the pots capped with vented cowls, had the flaunching and pointing all redone and most recently re-bedded in all the lead flashing. In theory no water should be now getting in as the chimney is as good as new, so why are we still getting a leak?! It's a 1930s house and being up a steep hill we're fairly exposed on one side. Ive been up during heavy rain and taken off the cowls, where I could see the underside of the cowls were dry, as was the top of the slate that the pots are sat on, however immediately below this where the bricks start I could clearly see water on the inside face of the bricks. Could they be sucking in that much water? If so are there any solutions to fix the problem? We've paid professionals for all the previous work but were now out of money and with a scaffold still up to the chimney since the recent repointing I am hopeful there is something I can do to fix this myself as we're getting desperate, thanks for any help in advance I really appreciate it. Update: I believe the repointing was done with modern sand/cement with black pigment (to match appearance of neighbours chimneys) with waterprofer mixed in. That said the leak was there before the repointing was done. Also re: lead soakers thank you very much for the tips, I did check this out originally and they're in good condition with decent overlaps all round. Also the wetness on the inside of the bricks is approx 12-13 courses up from the nearest soaker so surely it's somehow getting in higher up? I've uploaded some pics here: https://postimg.cc/gallery/t1nvYTr Further update: It only happens during heavy or consistent rainfall, at any time of year. The loft is well insulated and I've even fitted a few tile vents to ensure it does have good ventilation when/if it does leak.