Vinyl Siding Chimney Leak
The bricks go up around the tile flue liners but at the top you need something to stop the rain and snow from just falling in around the tiles.
Vinyl siding chimney leak. Water leaks at soffit or eave overhang penetrations for chimneys that permits water to leak at the roof surface then pass behind the siding if the chimney is not properly flashed. In this video this old house general contractor tom silva shows how to prevent water from leaking in behind vinyl siding. If an installer uses a material such as incorrectly this only exacerbates the problem. The chimney crown is the cement part on top of the chimney.
Brick and stone chimneys if installed properly can last the better part of a lifetime. Using detailed examples and photos of leaky building siding siding stains ice or other leak clues for vinyl siding we illustrate the installation mistakes or subsequent siding damage that can cause troublesome even dangerous leaks into a building wall or wall. This article describes the causes of all types of leaks in building siding and wall coverings. Inspect the area above the leak including both indoors and out.
My photo above of ice below some courses of vinyl siding traces a moisture problem traced to improper installation of a through wall vent for a direct vent heating. The chimney exterior can be made up of a number of substrates including brick stone wood siding vinyl siding or stucco. Therefore it is not a watertight covering. Vinyl siding is designed to allow the material underneath it to breathe.
Check to be sure weep holes are open along bottom of window openings. Vinyl is a potentially leaky material and water trapped behind siding leads to decay and mold. Siding leak diagnosis and repair. How to prevent water from flowing under vinyl siding.
While stone and brick chimneys sit on a mortar bed wood vinyl sided and stucco chimneys are installed over a framed opening. You can see that the very purpose of the chimney crown is to keep rain out. Because of its design and application it provides a supplemental rain screen that enhances the water resistive barrier system by reducing the amount of water that reaches the underlying water resistive barrier. Although vinyl is impervious to water when installed as directed by the manufacturer vinyl siding as a whole is not completely watertight.
2 many chimney leaks are from cracks in the chimney crown.