- Welcome to Episode 11 of our roofing components playlist,
where we do a deep dive into all the major components
of your roof system.
Today, we're gonna be talking about chimneys
and everything that they have to do with your roof system.
I'm Bill Ragan with Bill Ragan Roofing Company.
Thanks for watching The Roofing Channel.
Let's get started.
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What are the types of chimneys?
There's really just two different types of chimneys.
One is a full masonry chimney,
where it is a solid brick or stone chimney.
The other one is a chimney chase that has a pipe
or a ceramic type flue that goes through it
and comes out the top of it through the top of the chase.
The surface of the outside of your chimney
could vary from brick, to stone, or siding.
How is the chimney protected?
All chimneys, regardless of where they sit on your roof,
have to have flashing.
Now, if it's a siding chimney
the flashing tucks in behind the siding
and you shouldn't even know that it's there.
A brick chimney or a stone chimney
is gonna have step flashing and counter flashing
tucked into the mortar to cover the top
of the step flashing to make sure any water running
down the surface does not get in behind the step flashing
and penetrate through the roof decking into your attic.
All chimneys wider than 30 inches are required
by codes to have a cricket behind them.
A cricket is two triangles that create a saddle
effect that divert the water out and around
the edges of the chimney.
What if you have a problem with your chimney?
If there's a leak around your chimney
and it has to do with the flashing
then most definitely you want a roofer out there
that knows what they're doing to take care
of that flashing issue.
There are other common issues that we see
with different types of chimneys, brick chimneys
they've been known for the mortar joints
to let water seep in and we have to seal those
with a masonry water repellent.
Stone chimneys, about the only way to truly keep those
from leaking is to have a cap on the top of them
that is three inches larger all the way around
than the chimney itself.
So any rain that rains on top of it hits this cap
and runs down and misses the chimney by three inches
and not saturating the rocks and the mortar.
If you're experiencing a leak around your chimney
the first step would be to water test it,
to see if it's actually the flashing.
A flashing issue more than likely
is gonna leak every single time it rains.
Where if it's one of the other issues,
like a moisture seeping in through the bricks,
or something seeping in through a stone chimney,
then you might need to call a stone mason,
you may even need to call a chimney sweep
to help you with that chimney cap
being larger than the actual chimney itself.
Most roofers don't have the license
or the insurance to do masonry work
or the chimney sweep related work.
Better to call a professional on each of those trades
if that's the type of work that needs to be done
on your chimney.
What cost are related to a chimney?
Chimney flashing was covered in one of our previous videos,
to watch that video click here.
If you have a full masonry chimney
and need a cap on it, we always make them outta copper.
And they usually start at $2,000 for our basic model.
If your chimney is one of those styles
that is actually a chimney chase with a pipe running
through it, and you need a new top on it,
then you're gonna have to hire a chimney sweep
or someone that is licensed and insured
to remove the spark arrester and change out the chase top
and then assemble everything back together.
It's really, really important to make sure
that whoever takes that apart is licensed and insured
to put it all back together properly
just in case of a fire.
The only other expenses that are related
to a chimney is if the bricks would need to be sealed
or if you need to seal the stones and the mortar joints
on a stone chimney.
If that service is needed,
make sure and get a quote before that service
is performed on your chimney.
And also make sure that you get a minimum
of a five year warranty.
Now, you know, everything that you need to know
about chimneys.
To continue your roof in education,
click on the link below at the end of this video
and watch Episode 12 of our roofing components playlist
about optional components.
I'm Bill Ragan, Bill Ragan Roofing Company,
thanks again for watching The Roofing Channel.
Remember to like, and subscribe,
so other homeowners like you can get the education
they need to make that informed purchasing decision.
See you on the next one.
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