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sealing chimney base grodenhiATgmailDOTcom 11-25-2006
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Posted by grodenhiATgmailDOTcom on November 25, 2006, 1:50 pm


I've posted about this ongoing issue in the past about my chimney
leaking. It's an all brick chimney (including the part that goes
underground), on the side of the house, and as far as I know the
original from the 50's. The base of the chimney (the ash clean-out) is
about 2 feet below ground. During really heavy rains (say 2-3 inches
in a day), the base of the chimney takes on water and begins to fill
up. Once the water reaches about 1 foot deep it spills through the
clean out doors into our basement. In troubleshooting this issue we've
had the chimney capped, bricks sealed (ChimneySaver), and flashing
redone. I also dug out around the base of the chimney (to the slab it
rests on) and did two coats of foundation sealer and wrapped it in
plastic. These steps have worked very well (no water during the last
few storms) until the storm we just got on Thanksgiving. We got about
3 inches of rain and about 2-4 inches of water still managed to get in
there. No water seems to get in until the ground gets saturated (at
two inches of rain both the sump and the chimney were bone dry, then
between the 2.5 inch and three inch mark both the sump and chimney
start to show some water. Now I have a few questions....

1.) Where is the water coming from? Is it seeping up from the "floor"
of the clean out (if so why doesn't water seep up into my cellar window
well that goes one foot below grade? Could it be getting in through
the seam where the brick of the chimney meets the foundation? When I
did my sealing job I couldn't get to exactly where the chimney meets
the foundation on one side due to the fact that it looks like they just
dumped the extra cement there as there was a huge hardened blob there.


2.) I think this problem is beyond what I can do myself and I need to
call a pro to evaluate. Would I call a basement waterproofing company,
a chimney company, or foundation/mason? Do any of these companies
offer a warranty (I'd hate to throw a lot of money into solutions that
won't work).

Thanks for any suggestions!!


Posted by on November 25, 2006, 2:21 pm



grodenhiATgmailDOTcom wrote:
> I've posted about this ongoing issue in the past about my chimney
> leaking. It's an all brick chimney (including the part that goes
> underground), on the side of the house, and as far as I know the
> original from the 50's. The base of the chimney (the ash clean-out) is
> about 2 feet below ground. During really heavy rains (say 2-3 inches
> in a day), the base of the chimney takes on water and begins to fill
> up. Once the water reaches about 1 foot deep it spills through the
> clean out doors into our basement. In troubleshooting this issue we've
> had the chimney capped, bricks sealed (ChimneySaver), and flashing
> redone. I also dug out around the base of the chimney (to the slab it
> rests on) and did two coats of foundation sealer and wrapped it in
> plastic. These steps have worked very well (no water during the last
> few storms) until the storm we just got on Thanksgiving. We got about
> 3 inches of rain and about 2-4 inches of water still managed to get in
> there. No water seems to get in until the ground gets saturated (at
> two inches of rain both the sump and the chimney were bone dry, then
> between the 2.5 inch and three inch mark both the sump and chimney
> start to show some water. Now I have a few questions....
>
> 1.) Where is the water coming from? Is it seeping up from the "floor"
> of the clean out (if so why doesn't water seep up into my cellar window
> well that goes one foot below grade? Could it be getting in through
> the seam where the brick of the chimney meets the foundation? When I
> did my sealing job I couldn't get to exactly where the chimney meets
> the foundation on one side due to the fact that it looks like they just
> dumped the extra cement there as there was a huge hardened blob there.
>
>
> 2.) I think this problem is beyond what I can do myself and I need to
> call a pro to evaluate. Would I call a basement waterproofing company,
> a chimney company, or foundation/mason? Do any of these companies
> offer a warranty (I'd hate to throw a lot of money into solutions that
> won't work).
>
> Thanks for any suggestions!!


I dont know if this might help , I would be tempted to dig a sump
outside , next to the chimeny and put a sump pump in place. If the
water goes over maybe 6" in the sump pump it out away from the house.

It sounds to me like the ground is saturated and with sufficient water
its finding a way through.


Posted by hallerb@aol.com on November 25, 2006, 4:39 pm


check the basics any nearby downspout drains or lines? ground slope
towards house?

you should look at the basics before deciding on a repair......

ideally if theres a convenient lower place away from home dig and
install underground drain line so if watewr does collect it has a place
to go.........


Posted by grodenhiATgmailDOTcom on November 25, 2006, 5:16 pm


There's a slight slope away from that side of the house. There is one
downspout about 8-10 feet away that drains downhill from this area. I
have gone out to inspect the area during heavy rains and I don't see
any standing/collecting water. It seems like the ground is simply
hitting a saturation point and water is finding it's way in somehow.
The chimney begins to take on water at the exact same time that the
sump does (again, after about 2.5 inches of rain in a single day).
While this amount of rain on a single day is rare, it seems to becoming
more and more common in the last two years. I was pondering to put in
some drainage pipe along the outside of the chimney and run it perhaps
5-10 feet away to empty out. However, is this just a patch for a leaky
chimney that should be fixed, there is no standing water collecting
here, just normal ground saturation. My biggest hope is to find a
permanent/reliable solution that will hold up to a lot of rain (we're
statisically due for a hurricane up here in New England).


hallerb@aol.com wrote:
> check the basics any nearby downspout drains or lines? ground slope
> towards house?
>
> you should look at the basics before deciding on a repair......
>
> ideally if theres a convenient lower place away from home dig and
> install underground drain line so if watewr does collect it has a place
> to go.........


Posted by on November 25, 2006, 10:32 pm


I'd be inclined to clean the base and pour it full of concrete up to
the level of the cleanout door/and or higher if raising the door is not
a big issue.
grodenhiATgmailDOTcom wrote:
> I've posted about this ongoing issue in the past about my chimney
> leaking. It's an all brick chimney (including the part that goes
> underground), on the side of the house, and as far as I know the
> original from the 50's. The base of the chimney (the ash clean-out) is
> about 2 feet below ground. During really heavy rains (say 2-3 inches
> in a day), the base of the chimney takes on water and begins to fill
> up. Once the water reaches about 1 foot deep it spills through the
> clean out doors into our basement. In troubleshooting this issue we've
> had the chimney capped, bricks sealed (ChimneySaver), and flashing
> redone. I also dug out around the base of the chimney (to the slab it
> rests on) and did two coats of foundation sealer and wrapped it in
> plastic. These steps have worked very well (no water during the last
> few storms) until the storm we just got on Thanksgiving. We got about
> 3 inches of rain and about 2-4 inches of water still managed to get in
> there. No water seems to get in until the ground gets saturated (at
> two inches of rain both the sump and the chimney were bone dry, then
> between the 2.5 inch and three inch mark both the sump and chimney
> start to show some water. Now I have a few questions....
>
> 1.) Where is the water coming from? Is it seeping up from the "floor"
> of the clean out (if so why doesn't water seep up into my cellar window
> well that goes one foot below grade? Could it be getting in through
> the seam where the brick of the chimney meets the foundation? When I
> did my sealing job I couldn't get to exactly where the chimney meets
> the foundation on one side due to the fact that it looks like they just
> dumped the extra cement there as there was a huge hardened blob there.
>
>
> 2.) I think this problem is beyond what I can do myself and I need to
> call a pro to evaluate. Would I call a basement waterproofing company,
> a chimney company, or foundation/mason? Do any of these companies
> offer a warranty (I'd hate to throw a lot of money into solutions that
> won't work).
>
> Thanks for any suggestions!!


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