Boo-hoo, water comes down my chimney..........

[Alcazar]

Well, actually, this has been going on for years (three:whistling, but another post has remindfed me to ask if anyone else has had this, and cured it?

Basically, we have a UK woodburner, (yes, I know, I know:blush, with a stainless gaine running up the chimney right to the top according to regs (?????????).

The top of the chimney has the usual flat stone, (cement) slab on top of it, supported on four little rods, one on each corner. It is about 15cm above the chimney lip., and the same size as the outside of the chimney.

The chimney is quite wide, about 1500mmx600mm at the base, and about 450mmx250mm at the top, straight up and down.

The top of the fireplace is blocked off with a galvanised fireplate.

Now, here's the problem: living in the Haute Vienne, we get a fair bit of rain, (wish I'd realised just how much before buying, but that's another story ), quite a lot of which is in the form of "bruines", like a thick sea fret, very wetting, with fine misty rain drifting every which way.

When it rains, the water comes down the inside, and the outside of the gaine, and is rusting the woodburner chimney outlet, the damper, the damper mechanism, and the woodburner top quite badly. In fact the damper is getting increasingly hard to use.

Any advice, tricks or otherwise to stop it happening?

BTW: we have another chimney in the kitchen and water comes down that one too, even without the gaine., although not as much and it's not causing the same problems.

I had thought of replacing the stone top with a sheet of, say, alloy, with a downward facing lip on it, or even louvres, something a bit wider than the present top, and held on with nuts on top of studding instead of just resting on? I can get 5, 6 or even 10mm alloy through a contact.

I'd also thought of one of those wind directable cowls that you used to see on UK chimneys, but they don't seem to be available? And wouldn't solve the problem of water ingress down the OUTSIDE of the gaine?

Thanks for any advice etc.

Alcazar

[dinks]

so do we but not much , but then are chimney is kind of big

[VJ]

The first point to establish is where the water is coming in from outside.

Is it through the brickwork, or is it from rain getting in between the slab and the top of the Chimney where the smoke comes out, then running down the ss flue on the inside and out?

This established the following may help.

Remove the top plate on the chimney and extend the ss flue and put a storm hat on the top.

Fill in around the top of the chimney up to about 75 mm of the top of the flue by flauncing (angled)the mortar so the water runs down but away from the ss flue

Treat the chimney if brick or stone with a clear brush on sealer which will stop any water penetration (Thompsons is a good one) Dont forget to do the top of the brickwork as water if old bricks soaks down and tends to come out inside the chimney as you probably do not have a lead sealing plate just above the ridge.

This may help but others may have a better ideas

VJ

[Alcazar]

It's coming under the slab, rather than through the brickwork, as stated, it runs down the inside, and the outside of the flue liner/chimney, but the fireplate isn't affected.

Alcazar

[Esperaza]

My wood burner flue has the usual "top hat" but when the rain drives in certain directions the water comes down the flue and floods the rugs and floor of the lounge. I haven't found a successful way to stop it but have stopped the damage it was causing.  I purchased a cheap plastic washing-up bowl that just fits under the wood burner and drilled a hole two thirds the way up it and inserted a 10 mm copper pipe into this which then passes through the outside wall and drains onto the terrace.

Where there's a will, there's a way!

[VJ]

Ok so the cause is confirmed you can do as I suggest and extend the liner with a storm hat on top and finish off around it,or you could even take off the slab and fit a storm pot

Or do a combination of both

Happy Building