Chimney problems, falling brick particles into Fireplace

[tomasgreene]

Hi,

We've been in our house for nearly 1 year and think we have a problem with the chimney. There are small particles of brick falling from the chimney to the fireplace and

* We noticed it about fairly soon after moving in and got the chimney swept at that point (around early Summer).
* During this Autumn and Winter the particles of brick has been falling at an increased rate, below are 2 pictures of my fireplace.

View media item 73442 View media item 73443
* More brick particles fall into the fireplace during heavy rain.
* My wife can smell damp around the fireplace especially after rain.
* Below are pictures looking up the chimney from the fireplace.

View media item 73440 View media item 73441
Please advise what I should do to stop the particles and did rid of the damp. Is there anything I can check myself to narrow down the cause? Also should I get a roofer out to inspect the chimney or a chimney sweep?

Thanks in advance

Tomas

 

[ree]

The particles look like brick bits from the stack.
So maybe a roofer to go up there and see whats going on.
Pre-ask on the initial phone call if the tradesperson will take some photos for you to see what they might claim is happening, or needs to be fixed, up there on the stack.

Its becoming common for roof workers to give digital before and after pics to the customer.

The flue in the pics looks very clean.

 

[tomasgreene]

Thanks Ree. I'll phone a couple of roofers to see if they can advise. Would a chimney sweep also be able to see what's going on? I looked at the front of the chimney this morning and it looks damp. The next doors chimney looks worse however they have their chimney blocked so are probably fine.

 

[ree]

Some sweeps are excellent all rounders, so by all means try a sweep esp. if you have used them in the past. Maybe whoever swept your flue(s)?

 

[Flyboytim]

The chimney is not performing the function it was intended for, which was to carry smoke and hot air from the hearth below on a regular basis, and certainly throughout the winter months.

That would have kept the brickwork dry, covered with a layer of hydrophobic soot, and not allowed rainwater ingress to destroy and strip the upper flue lining and in turn to cause the exposed bricks in the upper part of the chimney stack to spall, and wash down the chimney during rainfall.

The damage is probably not that great, so long as the exterior of the stack has been well maintained, but a suitable cowl to allow ventilation and prevent rainwater entering the chimney is probably now required.

A chimney sweep will probably remove nothing but some debris and flue lining from the upper part of the flue, looking at the clean state of the lower flue - probably not worth the expense unless you need the chimney swept on a regular basis to maintain a good draught to regulation standards for a gas fire below.

There are still good roofers out there who will give an honest quote for good quality work, but I don't know who or where in London. The scaffolding and health and safety considerations make roofing work very expensive nowadays.

You could look on the services section of a site like http://www.chiswickw4.com or one of the sister sites for reliable roofers in the services section, or find a similar site nearer where you live for recommendations.