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I've seen other posts on this forum in this vein but still need advice. We have been suffering with a damp issue related to our chimney stack. It's a 1950s house, hipped roof. The stack is quite large with two pots. All fireplaces in the house have been blocked off for years (by previous owners) so none in use.
Pic of stack:
Yes, I know we have copper flashing and that there is no lead tray in the chimney. Not visible in this pic are the clay cowls (with vent holes round edge) that now cap the pots. These cowls are sealed to the pots not just set in place.
Upstairs bedroom was reskimmed a year ago, still waiting to paint it and then just before Christmas during wet weather we saw this damp patch suddenly appear:
I looked in the loft and could clearly see water on timbers directly above this area:
Notice the damp on the rafter, as well as towards the base of the stack, in the image above. Now look at it during a drier spell below:
Everything there seems much drier. However, these areas do get darker looking now and again, roughly correlating with wet weather. And the damp patch in the room beneath now looks like this (see below). A bit drier in one or two spots but it is worse overall and has spread to the right though is much fainter in that area:
Our roof has six tile vents and also some lap vents I installed in a few places. In my (admittedly amateur) opinion, it's well-ventilated. I've only ever seen condenstaion up there on one exceptionally cold and foggy morning. I check regularly. But I suppose condensation could still be a factor here - I just would like to know if anyone spots something in these pics that I haven't!
We have been recommended to reflash, repoint and reflaunch the chimney and I am considering this because the pointing is clearly not great (there are multiple gaps visible in it). We are also aware that our ridge tiles need repointing and I wonder how much this could be contributing to our issue. (The damp timbers are really only apparent in this one area near the problem chimney stack, though there is a bit of staining here and there elsewhere in the loft. We actually have two stacks of the same design - only one is presenting issues at the moment.)
Some roofers, however, have insisted there is no way of fixing it and that the stack should just come down but I am unconvinced and suspect they are taking an easy option - these are people who in some cases have said they don't need to go up and inspect the loft or stack, they just know, categorically, it must come down. This seems ridiculous to me.
Pic of stack:
Yes, I know we have copper flashing and that there is no lead tray in the chimney. Not visible in this pic are the clay cowls (with vent holes round edge) that now cap the pots. These cowls are sealed to the pots not just set in place.
Upstairs bedroom was reskimmed a year ago, still waiting to paint it and then just before Christmas during wet weather we saw this damp patch suddenly appear:
I looked in the loft and could clearly see water on timbers directly above this area:
Notice the damp on the rafter, as well as towards the base of the stack, in the image above. Now look at it during a drier spell below:
Everything there seems much drier. However, these areas do get darker looking now and again, roughly correlating with wet weather. And the damp patch in the room beneath now looks like this (see below). A bit drier in one or two spots but it is worse overall and has spread to the right though is much fainter in that area:
Our roof has six tile vents and also some lap vents I installed in a few places. In my (admittedly amateur) opinion, it's well-ventilated. I've only ever seen condenstaion up there on one exceptionally cold and foggy morning. I check regularly. But I suppose condensation could still be a factor here - I just would like to know if anyone spots something in these pics that I haven't!
We have been recommended to reflash, repoint and reflaunch the chimney and I am considering this because the pointing is clearly not great (there are multiple gaps visible in it). We are also aware that our ridge tiles need repointing and I wonder how much this could be contributing to our issue. (The damp timbers are really only apparent in this one area near the problem chimney stack, though there is a bit of staining here and there elsewhere in the loft. We actually have two stacks of the same design - only one is presenting issues at the moment.)
Some roofers, however, have insisted there is no way of fixing it and that the stack should just come down but I am unconvinced and suspect they are taking an easy option - these are people who in some cases have said they don't need to go up and inspect the loft or stack, they just know, categorically, it must come down. This seems ridiculous to me.
