Posted: Tue Oct 18, 2005 1:52 pm
What might be the last update, for a while at least I hope:
Well, I have some interesting, and what appears to be very good news:
The last (excluding one my realtor is going to refer me to; I asked her yesterday afternoon if she knew of anybody) contractor came today and turned out to be the best.
This is the one originally badmouthed by a prior contractor, who it turns out used to work for the company he badmouthed, but was fired; for legal reasons I won't go into details here.
Anyway, after his inspection, he said the outside of the chimney is in good shape, including the crown and sides, which is mortar (not meshed as it [ideally] should be over the original concrete and / or bricks.
He stated that the flashing job (roofing cement) was well done and that it was in good condition with no cracks or other noticeable problems.
He also informed me that there IS actually original metal chimney flashing (just no roof or counter flashing) underneath the roofing cement. I didn't realize that.
I told him about the liner saleseman (from another company) who had come earlier and that I didn't feel I needed one; today's contractor also stated that I do NOT need a liner, even though they DO liners...
He said even then I wouldn't need an expensive stainless steel liner, but rather an aluminum one because I have a gas furnace, not an oil one.
He shone a flashlight down the flue (more on that at the end).
He checked in the attic.
He could NOT find or see any problem area(s) where the leak would or could be coming from (except one thing he told me later, after conferring with his boss; this was regarding the cement condition between the '2 foot' long tiles, that comprise the flue, on one row near the top of the chimney). See further down for what his boss thought the cause of the problem likely is, based on his prior experience with chimney leaks.
His theory is that it could be because we had very heavy rain for eight straight days and that the sideways rain got underneath the chimney cap (He said I can't get a larger one because of the 8x8 flue, which is what I posted I thought earlier in this thread).
He said a possible solution, to the windswept rain, IF that is the cause,
is to get a 5 1/2 top plate installed (cemented to top of flue under chimney cap).
This is not exactly cheap, but not expensive either for $250, since they have to come by, which alone costs time / money.
He did not push this, and only presented it as a solution IF the problem persists.
I appreciate his honesty.
When we were talking about roofing cement (and its longevity or lack thereof), he stated he had roofing cement done 5 years ago when his roof was redone and he hasn't had leaks yet.
He also confirmed that the shingles are in (very? I don't remember every word he said verbatim, since we covered so much) good shape and the roof indeed has 4 years left.
This is why it pays to get multiple estimates; this is a local guy who has been in business for 27 years and isn't a sweat shop like some others.
Anyway, I am going to see what happens next time it rains.
PS: He came back to my house 10 - 15 minutes after leaving and said that, while getting the details of his next assignment / appointment, his boss (whom he discussed my situation with) thought it could be the condition of the cement between one of the '2 foot' flue sections (he did notice it was deteriorated) near the top of the flue.
His boss thought that could be letting the water penetrate the cement in the attic.
If so, they could use a stick to cement that from outside, and then install the top plate.
I don't think the rain was all that windswept, although I certainly hope he IS right and that is all it is. (I do remember that last time I checked it in February after roofer had done the work mentioned before, it wasn't leaking, but I thought the roofing cement and / or silicone might have deteriorated since then).
I'll keep an eye on it and if the leaks reccur even with normal rain, I'll call this last company back and have them check it again and see what can be done.
I suppose it could also be a hairline crack in the crown that he missed during his inspection, but I am just guessing; besides he has no incentive / reason not to find a problem...
Motto of the story, which I usually follow, get at least 3 or 4 estimates on things where there is a large variation in possible diagnoses.
Or go with a contractor you know or that a friend or neighbor has used.
Thanks again for all your feeback and tips.
Feel free to comment on this last guy's feedback.
PS:
It is nice to know that there are still very honest companies around.
The other guy had told me this company would try to sell me all kinds of stuff and say eveything would need to be replaced, when, in fact, the exact opposite occurred.
I am not saying they are all bad, far from it, but in my case (maybe bad luck) it seemed the majority were either indifferent [saying $350 of work needs to be done without going on the roof or even in the attic], incompetant or trying to sell something I didn't even ask for.
EDITED to add:
My realtor called to give me the recommendation for the chimney company; it turned out to be the first company I had called, which had a 2 week backlog, so I decided to keep them in mind if necessary, since I wanted the work, if necessary, to be done quickly.
Anyway, during last week's rains, she had put a turkey pan in her chimney (in the basement) to catch the rain water leaking down through the CAPPED chimney into the fireplace.
She had to empty it every three MINUTES during the worst parts of the rain storms!
Wow! I guess lots of people had issues.
I was far more fortunate.
In any case, I have my fingers crossed that during the next rain storm (not 8 straight days if heavy rain), things will
be fine.
I have no problem paying $250 to get a top plate installed, but FIRST want to be sure that the leaking doesn't reccur with rain coming straight down (i.e. not windswept), since in that case I will need them to check the crown, sides and flashing area again...
I am not so sure the top plate would help, since it happens only on one side and I don't remember the wind being a big factor, although I wasn't y keepig an eye on the wind all the time last week.
Well, I have some interesting, and what appears to be very good news:
The last (excluding one my realtor is going to refer me to; I asked her yesterday afternoon if she knew of anybody) contractor came today and turned out to be the best.
This is the one originally badmouthed by a prior contractor, who it turns out used to work for the company he badmouthed, but was fired; for legal reasons I won't go into details here.
Anyway, after his inspection, he said the outside of the chimney is in good shape, including the crown and sides, which is mortar (not meshed as it [ideally] should be over the original concrete and / or bricks.
He stated that the flashing job (roofing cement) was well done and that it was in good condition with no cracks or other noticeable problems.
He also informed me that there IS actually original metal chimney flashing (just no roof or counter flashing) underneath the roofing cement. I didn't realize that.
I told him about the liner saleseman (from another company) who had come earlier and that I didn't feel I needed one; today's contractor also stated that I do NOT need a liner, even though they DO liners...
He said even then I wouldn't need an expensive stainless steel liner, but rather an aluminum one because I have a gas furnace, not an oil one.
He shone a flashlight down the flue (more on that at the end).
He checked in the attic.
He could NOT find or see any problem area(s) where the leak would or could be coming from (except one thing he told me later, after conferring with his boss; this was regarding the cement condition between the '2 foot' long tiles, that comprise the flue, on one row near the top of the chimney). See further down for what his boss thought the cause of the problem likely is, based on his prior experience with chimney leaks.
His theory is that it could be because we had very heavy rain for eight straight days and that the sideways rain got underneath the chimney cap (He said I can't get a larger one because of the 8x8 flue, which is what I posted I thought earlier in this thread).
He said a possible solution, to the windswept rain, IF that is the cause,
is to get a 5 1/2 top plate installed (cemented to top of flue under chimney cap).
This is not exactly cheap, but not expensive either for $250, since they have to come by, which alone costs time / money.
He did not push this, and only presented it as a solution IF the problem persists.
I appreciate his honesty.
When we were talking about roofing cement (and its longevity or lack thereof), he stated he had roofing cement done 5 years ago when his roof was redone and he hasn't had leaks yet.
He also confirmed that the shingles are in (very? I don't remember every word he said verbatim, since we covered so much) good shape and the roof indeed has 4 years left.
This is why it pays to get multiple estimates; this is a local guy who has been in business for 27 years and isn't a sweat shop like some others.
Anyway, I am going to see what happens next time it rains.
PS: He came back to my house 10 - 15 minutes after leaving and said that, while getting the details of his next assignment / appointment, his boss (whom he discussed my situation with) thought it could be the condition of the cement between one of the '2 foot' flue sections (he did notice it was deteriorated) near the top of the flue.
His boss thought that could be letting the water penetrate the cement in the attic.
If so, they could use a stick to cement that from outside, and then install the top plate.
I don't think the rain was all that windswept, although I certainly hope he IS right and that is all it is. (I do remember that last time I checked it in February after roofer had done the work mentioned before, it wasn't leaking, but I thought the roofing cement and / or silicone might have deteriorated since then).
I'll keep an eye on it and if the leaks reccur even with normal rain, I'll call this last company back and have them check it again and see what can be done.
I suppose it could also be a hairline crack in the crown that he missed during his inspection, but I am just guessing; besides he has no incentive / reason not to find a problem...
Motto of the story, which I usually follow, get at least 3 or 4 estimates on things where there is a large variation in possible diagnoses.
Or go with a contractor you know or that a friend or neighbor has used.
Thanks again for all your feeback and tips.
Feel free to comment on this last guy's feedback.
PS:
It is nice to know that there are still very honest companies around.
The other guy had told me this company would try to sell me all kinds of stuff and say eveything would need to be replaced, when, in fact, the exact opposite occurred.
I am not saying they are all bad, far from it, but in my case (maybe bad luck) it seemed the majority were either indifferent [saying $350 of work needs to be done without going on the roof or even in the attic], incompetant or trying to sell something I didn't even ask for.
EDITED to add:
My realtor called to give me the recommendation for the chimney company; it turned out to be the first company I had called, which had a 2 week backlog, so I decided to keep them in mind if necessary, since I wanted the work, if necessary, to be done quickly.
Anyway, during last week's rains, she had put a turkey pan in her chimney (in the basement) to catch the rain water leaking down through the CAPPED chimney into the fireplace.
She had to empty it every three MINUTES during the worst parts of the rain storms!
Wow! I guess lots of people had issues.
I was far more fortunate.
In any case, I have my fingers crossed that during the next rain storm (not 8 straight days if heavy rain), things will
be fine.
I have no problem paying $250 to get a top plate installed, but FIRST want to be sure that the leaking doesn't reccur with rain coming straight down (i.e. not windswept), since in that case I will need them to check the crown, sides and flashing area again...
I am not so sure the top plate would help, since it happens only on one side and I don't remember the wind being a big factor, although I wasn't y keepig an eye on the wind all the time last week.