Expert: James Ball - 2/24/2010

Question
I'm pretty sure that the brick chimney is leaking.  I see gaps in the cement .  My question is... can I coat the chimney with hydraulic cement, because a mason wants more to repair it than I can afford, this is a cheap way to fix it, if thats possible.  Thanks John Debuduo

Answer
Hello John, not sure how bad your "gaps" are but if you do not remove all the old brittle cement the new (hydraulic or not) will not hold. if you can get it cleaned out, dry then a regular repointing mix should do the trick, (home centers will help you find the right mix and might tell you hw to do it) if you have lose bricks you will have to remove all the old cement and redo it all if the crown is damaged then that too will have to be replaced. Worse case senerio you call the mason back to redo your work but it might be more $$
good luck
James