House built in '82. 3 fireplaces, which all group together into one
chimney, but apparantly have seperate flues, as there are 3 outputs on
top of the chimney stack.

Anywhoo, the exterior brick is rotting away. At the start of each
summer, I find small chunks o' brick on my deck, which I suppose were
actually fractured off by water/winter freeze, and then the heat and
wind of summer(house faces a lake - wind gusts are sometimes quite
severe and lasts for hours, and the back of the house has a SW
exposure, and gets lots of heat in the summer).

Anyway.... is there something to seal the bricks with, or should I just
let it continue to rot and let the insurance cover it when it
collapses? I think it will probably last another 10 years, but it seems
the spring/summer chunk o brick pile grows larger each year.

Thanks

"Matt" wrote in message
oups.com...
House built in '82. 3 fireplaces, which all group together into one
chimney, but apparantly have seperate flues, as there are 3 outputs on
top of the chimney stack.

Anywhoo, the exterior brick is rotting away. At the start of each
summer, I find small chunks o' brick on my deck, which I suppose were
actually fractured off by water/winter freeze, and then the heat and
wind of summer(house faces a lake - wind gusts are sometimes quite
severe and lasts for hours, and the back of the house has a SW
exposure, and gets lots of heat in the summer).

Anyway.... is there something to seal the bricks with, or should I just
let it continue to rot and let the insurance cover it when it
collapses? I think it will probably last another 10 years, but it seems
the spring/summer chunk o brick pile grows larger each year.

Thanks


I think I can motivate you to find a solution. Read your policy. Most of
them do not cover this type of problem. Seepage damage caused over a period
of time.

Sounds like the brick used is to porous for your weather conditions. There
are clear brick sealers that you might be able to apply (like painting).
They are good for a few years before you need to recoat. You should be able
to buy it at a masonry supply house. I don't recall the brand name.

If you let too much damage occur the only choice you will have left is to
stucco the darn thing.

Colbyt

Insurance doesn't cover slow weather damage. A chimney cap which protects
the top brick from rain might help if it is not too late. A competent mason
can tell you although a roofer will probably do the installation.


"Matt" wrote in message
oups.com...
House built in '82. 3 fireplaces, which all group together into one
chimney, but apparantly have seperate flues, as there are 3 outputs on
top of the chimney stack.

Anywhoo, the exterior brick is rotting away. At the start of each
summer, I find small chunks o' brick on my deck, which I suppose were
actually fractured off by water/winter freeze, and then the heat and
wind of summer(house faces a lake - wind gusts are sometimes quite
severe and lasts for hours, and the back of the house has a SW
exposure, and gets lots of heat in the summer).

Anyway.... is there something to seal the bricks with, or should I just
let it continue to rot and let the insurance cover it when it
collapses? I think it will probably last another 10 years, but it seems
the spring/summer chunk o brick pile grows larger each year.

Thanks

Insurance does not safeguard against failure to maintain. Point the brick
and seal it with masonry grade silicone liquid avail in 5 gal pails from
roofing supply cos every 3-5 years.
Be carefull, the silicone will eat thru shingles.

--


Remove the obvious to reply. Experienced and reliable
Concrete Finishing and Synthetic Stucco application in the GTA.
"Art" wrote in message
link.net...
Insurance doesn't cover slow weather damage. A chimney cap which protects
the top brick from rain might help if it is not too late. A competent
mason
can tell you although a roofer will probably do the installation.


"Matt" wrote in message
oups.com...
House built in '82. 3 fireplaces, which all group together into one
chimney, but apparantly have seperate flues, as there are 3 outputs on
top of the chimney stack.

Anywhoo, the exterior brick is rotting away. At the start of each
summer, I find small chunks o' brick on my deck, which I suppose were
actually fractured off by water/winter freeze, and then the heat and
wind of summer(house faces a lake - wind gusts are sometimes quite
severe and lasts for hours, and the back of the house has a SW
exposure, and gets lots of heat in the summer).

Anyway.... is there something to seal the bricks with, or should I just
let it continue to rot and let the insurance cover it when it
collapses? I think it will probably last another 10 years, but it seems
the spring/summer chunk o brick pile grows larger each year.

Thanks

Thanks all.....

I think I'll call a mason....

Matt

Couple of causes:

1. An unlined chimney, particularly with a gas fireplace and/or furnace,
they produce lots of moisture that soaks into the brick then freezes
between heating cycles and destroys the bricks -- inside and out.

2. Bad seal at the top, allowing rain, melted snow etc., to enter between
bricks or between the liner and the bricks, result is the same as above.

Probably time for a stainless steel liner and surface rebuild or stucco
coating.


"Matt" wrote in message
oups.com...
House built in '82. 3 fireplaces, which all group together into one
chimney, but apparantly have seperate flues, as there are 3 outputs on
top of the chimney stack.

Anywhoo, the exterior brick is rotting away. At the start of each
summer, I find small chunks o' brick on my deck, which I suppose were
actually fractured off by water/winter freeze, and then the heat and
wind of summer(house faces a lake - wind gusts are sometimes quite
severe and lasts for hours, and the back of the house has a SW
exposure, and gets lots of heat in the summer).

Anyway.... is there something to seal the bricks with, or should I just
let it continue to rot and let the insurance cover it when it
collapses? I think it will probably last another 10 years, but it seems
the spring/summer chunk o brick pile grows larger each year.

Thanks

"Matt" wrote in message
oups.com...
House built in '82. 3 fireplaces, which all group together into one
chimney, but apparantly have seperate flues, as there are 3 outputs on
top of the chimney stack.

Anywhoo, the exterior brick is rotting away. At the start of each
summer, I find small chunks o' brick on my deck, which I suppose were
actually fractured off by water/winter freeze, and then the heat and
wind of summer(house faces a lake - wind gusts are sometimes quite
severe and lasts for hours, and the back of the house has a SW
exposure, and gets lots of heat in the summer).

Anyway.... is there something to seal the bricks with, or should I just
let it continue to rot and let the insurance cover it when it
collapses? I think it will probably last another 10 years, but it seems
the spring/summer chunk o brick pile grows larger each year.

Thanks


This is Turtle.

The Mortar Forker or brick manson who built the chimney did not use the right
ratio of sand to Mortar mix to hold up. Sounds like a little too much sand. This
goes back to the Mortar Forker who built it.

TURTLE

Bull****, sand/cement rations do not cause brick to rot or decay. A high
ratio is just as bad as low. If the mason was at fault brick and mortar in
areas other than the chimney would be failing.

--


Remove the obvious to reply. Experienced and reliable
Concrete Finishing and Synthetic Stucco application in the GTA.
"TURTLE" wrote in message
.. .

"Matt" wrote in message
oups.com...
House built in '82. 3 fireplaces, which all group together into one
chimney, but apparantly have seperate flues, as there are 3 outputs on
top of the chimney stack.

Anywhoo, the exterior brick is rotting away. At the start of each
summer, I find small chunks o' brick on my deck, which I suppose were
actually fractured off by water/winter freeze, and then the heat and
wind of summer(house faces a lake - wind gusts are sometimes quite
severe and lasts for hours, and the back of the house has a SW
exposure, and gets lots of heat in the summer).

Anyway.... is there something to seal the bricks with, or should I just
let it continue to rot and let the insurance cover it when it
collapses? I think it will probably last another 10 years, but it seems
the spring/summer chunk o brick pile grows larger each year.

Thanks


This is Turtle.

The Mortar Forker or brick manson who built the chimney did not use the
right
ratio of sand to Mortar mix to hold up. Sounds like a little too much
sand. This
goes back to the Mortar Forker who built it.

TURTLE

"ConcreteFinishing&StuccoGuy" wrote in message
...
Bull****, sand/cement rations do not cause brick to rot or decay. A high
ratio is just as bad as low. If the mason was at fault brick and mortar in
areas other than the chimney would be failing.

--


This is Turtle.

Wait a minute here ! Was he saing the Brick it'self was breaking down ? Now that
is a different story here for I have talk to some of the brick installers and
they have told me about martor breaking down but never a brick it'self.

Well, Acme Brick Company here in Louisiana has 100 year warranty on the bricks.
This might be a start here.

TURTLE