Expert: James Ball - 10/29/2009

Question
I was cleaning the fireplace of ashes and noticed the ashes where wet and you could see rust signs on the firebox. I was able to climb onto the roof and the cap is fine but the cement that goes around the top of the chimmeny has a lot of cracks in it. I believe this is where the rain is going in. What would be a good way to repair this?

Answer
Hello Kay, it may be that the crown is leaking and causing the water damage in that case you should have it replace by a mason, if they are small cracks then maybe some silicone will buy you some time, you could have a local Certified Chimney Sweep (www.csia.org, there you can look up by zip code to find one near you) take a first hand look at what you have they should be able to help.
Hope this helps
James