Expert: James Ball - 6/8/2009

Question
Hi! Thank you for taking my question. I have a relatively flat roof with old "role roofing" that I was thinking about replacing with a rubber EPDM roof. I also have a wood burning stove that has a stove pipe chimney that exits the side of the house and rises up through the fascia, and through the roof. Could this be a fire hazard? I inspected the area around the current roof and did not see any damage from residual 'burning creosote' that may have escaped. Am I being paranoid, or is should a good chimney cap do the job and should I just go ahead and install the EPDM rubber roofing? Any help is greatly appreciated!

Answer
Hello Bill, when was the last time the chimney was looked at? Cleaned? if you are going to replace the roof you might want to replace the flashing(same manufacturer as the pipe) do not do roofing membrane up to the pipe all pipes require a 2" minimum to combustibles.
I would 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