Expert: James Ball - 6/29/2010

Question
I hear a drip in/around the fireplace - a drip on metal.  I have no evidence of water damage. I have a cap on the chimney.  Could this be a leak around the flash and if so - is this expensive to repair if there is no other damage. The chimney is 15 years old.

Answer
Hello Diane, hard to tell, is this a metal chimney (prefab) or masonry (also has a  metal damper)  or it could have been water dripping on the cap?
You could wait until you hear it again and open the damper (wait for the dust to settle be fore looking up) and see if you can find it. 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