Like most eastern states, we had significant snowfall last week.

This week, late in the afternoons, we’ve had trickling water come down our fireburning chimney,

I can see there is snow still on the very top of the chimney. I believe this is melting in the slightly warmer afternoon and the cause of the trickling. Temps for the day haven’t gotten above 24 degrees but it is sunny. Trickling stops overnight.

The brick inside the house is damp as well.

I want to build a fire to dry out the stack and (hopefully) melt the snow at the top. The wife strongly objects to this.

She fears that there is some structural problem with the chimney. We literally had it inspected two weeks ago. No issues.

Oh Sigforum, give me guidance here!

Build a fire? Don’t build a fire?

Call the inspectors again?

Two weeks ago, you didn’t have the snow storm. I would listen to the wife. Call the inspector back.

Two weeks ago there wasn't any snow up there to melt and run down inside, either. I'd start a very small fire and see what happens, or better yet if possible go up there and brush the snow off the cap to see if the water stops. Water coming down inside the chimney could very well be as simple as snow melting off the chimney cap. If there were structural issues with your chimney pipe the inspector should have caught them, but snow melting off the cap isn't really a structural problem.

If there is moisture on the masonry inside the house I'd also be looking at the flashing outside the chimney where it meets the roof. Sounds like you may have a leak there. Did your inspector look at that, too, or just the chimney pipe itself?

Temperatures in CT have been very cold since the snow-unlikely melting snow from the sun.
Does your furnace have a vent pipe that exhausts your furnace?
Does your chimney have a spark arrestor cage or some type of cover?

Could be an ice dam has formed against the chimney. If that is the case, a fire may help however you may see an increase of water inside the house as it melts/clears out.

If there was structural damage to the chimney Id expect to see debris in the fireplace so if there isn't debris I doubt there's structural damage. The most likely culprit is melting ice so Id burn a couple logs and see what happens. If there is some sort of blockage it won't take long to become obvious at which point you put the fire out and give the chimney guy a call.

Heating system has a separate chimney on the other side of the house.

Inspector said flashing was fine. We had that “refreshed” along with tuckpointing done about six/seven years ago.

We also have chimney caps on both chimnies.

I think the sun exposure and home heat rising in the afternoon is melting the snow slowly, even though the outside temps stay below freezing.

^^ Yup...The brick, and any metal or masonry cap on the Chimney could easily be warming sufficiently in the sun to melt snow. Certainly not inches of snow, but if there's thin/thinner spots due to wind, etc I would NOT be surprised at all if there's snow melting that's occurring. The only question is how the melted snow is getting into the chimney. Perhaps get outside with a set of binoculars and get a good look at it from all angles, or as many as practical to confirm.

After shoveling my driveway, there almost always 'some' snow remaining, and after sun does it's thing my driveway's completely bare/snow free by the mid afternoon where ever the sun touches it. And just for the record, I never put salt on my driveway and haven't in the 19 years since I built my home. I rely on the immense power of the sun to keep my driveway snow free, at least after I've done my part.

I would suspect there is some problem with the cap. This is exactly what it's made to prevent.
I grew up in the north (CT in fact) where we had anywhere from 0-3+ feet of snow at any given time. Sometimes it fell mostly straight down, sometimes there were high winds.
Zero water down chimney.
Something's up, up there.
Maybe have them give you some photos of that area from the inspection.

1. snow is visible on top of the chimney
2. water is trickling inside the chimney
3. no water is reported inside the home from anywhere accessible from outside the chimney (flashing, sealing, whatever)

IF snow is present inside the chimney, due to cap failure, windblown snow, etc. then
(a) what is inside the chimney and subject to cold will slowly melt and then the trickle will stop
(b) building a fire will accelerate melting and more water will reach the hearth

IF there is no onrushing water AND no damage in the attic or wherever a chimney-to-house joint is flashed and sealed, a fire could accelerate issues. IF an ice dam is present, a warm chimney could release this dam and it may fall onto whatever is below.

You probably have a cracked chimney crown.

We fixed our wet chimney bricks by having a roofer check the flashing where the chimney goes through the roof. In our case, the seal needed to be redone.

The issue we had was higher up where the flashing met the chimney brick, rather than at shingle level - so it didn't happen unless/until water backed up high enough to get there. That happened only during really heavy deluges and when ice/snow on the edge of the roof hadn't melted but the higher parts did, so the meltwater backed up until the edges melted too.

It was a pain to track down and no shortage of theories - some of them ridiculous. One guy (a roofer!) actually suggested it was because the bricks were porous and the water was coming through the bricks themselves.

But when a different guy came, noticed the issue with the flashing and slathered his sealant - presto changeo - no more leaks!

Something’s definitely wrong with the chimmney or cap. If you’re getting meltwater trickling down now, what do you think is going to happen when you get thunderstorms in the spring? Suggest a reinspection to find out what the problem is.

My barely educated guess is there's an ice dam near that chimney. Is there an unfinished attic where you can see the chimney going through the roof?

As bendable would say call the man. It is probably the cap. It can easily turn into a safety issue if you light a fire.

If your chimney is on a sloped part of your roof, I would more suspect that you have an ice dam or leaf accumulation on the upper side that is allowing melt water to percolate under your shingles and through cracks in your chimney masonry. In this case, you are probably also getting water in your attic or the insulation space between your joists. This situation calls more for a roofer than a chimney guy, but much goodness can be accomplished by simply clearing the obstructed area.

I would and have had this issue and others. I've lived here a long time so I'm acquainted with normal.

Only once has an inspector found a needed urgent repair. I think
1) inspector is cheap insurance
2) Home front/spouse stays reasonable
3) My insurance co. (USAA-may they rot) has asked for inspection or evidence of one a few times.The house is 45 yrs old so I understand the request.
4) Obviously, I don't know your particulars but think hard about it.

Lit a small log fire this a.m. Burned about 90 minutes . No issues, normal performance… no meltwater that I can detect… but it is -6 F outside this morning.

The brick chimney is not visible from the attic.

I can see ice about 3 inches thick accumulated on the metal flashing…two stories up and hard to really see if the ice is making a problem.

Goes without saying, but there is no way in hell I am getting on the roof to inspect the flashing. I will “just call the man” for that job.

quote:

Originally posted by mttaylor1066:

I can see ice about 3 inches thick accumulated on the metal flashing…two stories up and hard to really see if the ice is making a problem.

Goes without saying, but there is no way in hell I am getting on the roof to inspect the flashing. I will “just call the man” for that job.

Do you have, or know anyone with, a drone to take some good close-up pictures to have on hand? No doubt when your man comes to inspect it it'll be fine, just like it was before this snow and ice.

My father had a chimney fire during cold wet snow conditions. A few other people knew of similar other experiences. I really don’t know if temperature inversions, or maybe running a hotter fire, or if water dissolved chimney deposits dripping down and flaming up in the hotter damper area are the cause. I do know he never cleaned the chimney and probably had swallow nests in it. Very irresponsible.
His chimney was brick, a large open chamber above the damper, and the cap held a section of 12” rectangular tile a few feet long.
During that fire I peeked down the chimney tile at the cap and the deposits on the inside had expanded to block about 60% of the nearly 12” opening.
The damage seemed minimal but he didn’t trust it after that. He had a metal flue pipe installed directly to a new fireplace insert, which he cleaned every year. Since then I notice the outer surface of many of the bricks is beginning to flake and blow off during the severe weather.