Wisconsin is a lovely state, with lush lawns and beautiful forested areas, rivers, and great hiking trails. But August in the Midwest United States can bring some pretty dry weather, and lawns can turn dry and crackly. It’s a welcome sound to hear a gentle rain falling in the night, bringing some green back to the lawns and clearing the dry, dusty air. This makes it especially hard to believe that the gentle rain can bring some serious damage to the structure of your chimney.
Damage Caused By Rain
Precipitation can cause damage in a couple of ways. First, there are the simple effects of common weathering. Water erosion can occur just through a frequent dripping of water on a porous surface, such as the mortar that connects the bricks in your chimney. Another way that precipitation can damage chimneys is through the freeze-thaw cycle. Mortar is porous, and so are bricks, and when precipitation gets in those pores and the cold temperatures of a Wisconsin winter hit, that water freezes, expands, and causes the pores to get bigger. As this cycle continues, the integrity of your chimney structure can be compromised. This can cause all sorts of problems, including allowing the gases that are supposed to be escaping your home to seep back in and endanger the health of you and your family.
There are other types of damage that can occur when water is allowed to penetrate your chimney. Among these issues are a rusty damper assembly. The damper can be opened to allow air to enter your chimney and create a draft, which makes your fire burn hotter and more efficiently. It can also be closed to keep the heated air from your furnace in your home. If this assembly is rusted, it won’t seal tightly and fulfill its purpose.
Fixing the Problem
There are several ways to handle the problem of precipitation harming your chimney. Make sure that your chimney crown is in a good state of repair and that it was properly constructed. It should have a downward slope and an overhang so that the precipitation is directed down and away from the chimney and the chimney flashing.
Another way to solve the problem of a leaking chimney is to have it waterproofed. Waterproofing is a tricky process, however, because not only does the waterproofing agent need to keep water out of your chimney, it also needs to allow water that may be stored in the pores of the chimney to exit. It this water isn’t allowed to evaporate out, it will sit in the chimney and continue to cause problems. This is why it’s so important to call in the specialists at Chimney Concepts. We use a professional product that allows the water in the pores of your chimney to escape while keeping the rainwater out. Not only this, but we know the techniques to make sure that the product is properly applied. Call us today so that your chimney is covered before the next rain falls.