All About Waterproofing
Even though your chimney is constantly exposed to water from rain and melted snow, you can still protect it from damage from water penetration. You have several options to prevent water leaks, such as a chimney cap and a flashing system, but if you want to give your entire chimney protection from water penetration, you can have a waterproofing treatment applied to your chimney. Since the masonry materials that your chimney was built with are naturally porous, the bricks and mortar of your chimney absorb water whenever it rains or snows. The water absorbed into the bricks and mortar can cause them to erode, crack, and break apart, and this damage can be expensive to repair, especially if this damage has occurred repeatedly over time. All American Chimney Service, LLC is proud to offer waterproofing services to the residents of the Louisville, KY area, and we would like to tell you a bit more about waterproofing and the kind of treatments we use.
What exactly is waterproofing?
Waterproofing a chimney is applying a layer of a water repellent that has been developed for use on masonry materials. This formula creates a barrier on your chimney that keeps water from being absorbed into the bricks and mortar of your chimney. This service not only protects your chimney from the damage caused by water penetration, but it also prolongs the life of your chimney.
What kind of waterproofing formula does All American Chimney Service, LLC use?
We have found an excellent brand of water repellents,ChimneySaver, that we use exclusively when we waterproof chimneys. We like ChimneySaver because of how well it works and because of its different types of water repellents. Typically, we will use either the ChimneySaver Water-Base Water Repellent or the ChimneySaver Solvent-Base Water Repellent. The difference between these two is the water-base is used if your chimney has never been waterproofed before and the solvent-base is used when you have had your chimney waterproofed in the past. Both of these water repellents are 100% vapor permeable, which means they allow water vapors to pass through the bricks when your chimney is being used. If these vapors are trapped, as clear sealants and paint can do, they can cause more damage to your bricks. Both the water-base and the solvent-base also come with a 10 year warranty, which means your chimney will be protected from water penetration for a decade.
What other ChimneySaver products can be used to waterproof chimneys?
There are several other different types of these products, including the ChimneySaver Water Repellent with Stain Blocker. If your chimney has been stained by mildew, efflorescence, or other reasons, we can use this type of waterproofing formula to keep these stains from reoccurring. We also like to use ChimneySaver Crack and Joint Sealant after using one of the water repellents to seal minor cracks and defects in your bricks and mortar joints. Of course, if we think the cracks and defects are serious enough to require masonry replacement, we will recommend that instead, but the Crack and Joint Sealant will work great for minor damage.
Protect your chimney from water penetration damage. Contactus atAll American Chimney ServiceLLC,to schedule an appointment for our waterproofing services.