Water-Proofing · Carlisle, PA
Breathable water repellent and crown coatings for brick chimneys
Breathable water repellent and crown coatings that stop freeze-thaw damage before the brick starts to spall.
Why freeze-thaw wrecks chimney brick
Brick and mortar are porous, and a chimney is the most exposed masonry on the house. Rain soaks in, and when a Pennsylvania cold snap freezes that water it expands and pushes the face off the brick. That is spalling, and it shows up as flaked brick, rough pitted faces and mortar that crumbles under a fingernail.
Water also finds the crown first. Hairline cracks across the top let it past the flue and into the stack, and from there it stains the chimney breast inside, rusts dampers and shortens the life of the masonry. Typically the damage is slow and quiet until a winter does the rest.
The same chimney after its crown was rebuilt and sealed with a white waterproof coating
How Water-Proofing is applied, in order
Sealing comes after repair, never instead of it. We close cracked crowns and open mortar joints first, because a coating over an open joint only hides the way in. Then the masonry is cleaned and a breathable water repellent goes on the brick and mortar. Breathable matters: typically a repellent should keep rain out while letting vapor from inside the wall escape, where a film that traps moisture can make spalling worse.
The crown gets its own treatment, a waterproof crown coat applied over the cured surface. The after photo on this page shows that coat on a rebuilt crown, a continuous white layer that sheds rain toward the edges. Where a crown is too far gone to coat, we rebuild it first.
How long the seal keeps working
Repellents wear with sun, rain and age. A simple test is to watch the brick during a shower. Water that beads and runs off means the treatment is holding. Dark, soaked patches, white powder on the brick, or flaking faces mean it is time to look again.
The yearly sweep and inspection gives us a regular look at the crown and the brick above the roofline, so small failures get caught before they spread. Call the office if you see new cracks or damp inside the chimney breast. We serve homes in Carlisle and across Cumberland, Adams and Perry Counties.
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