Any visibly damaged chimney should be repaired as soon as possible, as it could not only potentially lead to falling objects or a collapsing structure, but could potentially cause damage to the interior of your home as well.
Regardless of the type of chimney you have, they are uniquely vulnerable as the highest point in your house to the elements, to debris blown by the wind and to the unique internal decay that can come from a lack of maintenance or disuse.
It is also a victim of being out of sight and out of mind, but this is the precise point of neglect when small problems are allowed to fester and evolve into potentially dangerous deterioration.
To help avoid this, here are some of the warning signs that your chimney has crossed the threshold from being damaged to being dangerous.
Creaking Sounds During Thunderstorms
Chimneys should not make any noises, so knocking noises, creaking sounds, or unusual whooshing sounds where air surges through to your fireplace should all be taken seriously and not just assumed to be caused by settlement.
Sounds often go missed during strong winds, rain showers and thunderstorms because of the natural noise of the weather. However, you should always trust your gut; if something does not feel or sound right, it could be a sign of a hidden danger as the weather gets more tempestuous.
Leaning Chimneys
A chimney stack that has a noticeable lean is at risk of being structurally compromised, even if it is slight enough to once again be dismissed as the product of settlement.
Leaning chimneys put pressure on one side, which leads to unexpected forces that can cause cracks in your brickwork and damage to your mortar that needs to be professionally examined and repaired.
A leaning chimney typically means a failure of structural rigidity, something that will only escalate in intensity and potential danger once stronger winter winds blow heavily against it.
What makes this dangerous is that exactly when the chimney will fail further is unclear; it could remain leaning for years, or it could collapse in a week depending on the specific nature of its construction and the weather beating against it.
Bricks In The Garden
If you have noticed chunks of mortar or brick in your garden that you cannot account for, then the situation has progressed from potentially dangerous to actively dangerous, and you should contact a roofing expert as soon as possible.
It means that not only is the chimney actively falling apart, but debris is bypassing your roof and your guttering and landing in areas where people could be walking and could be hit by heavy chunks of masonry.
Beyond this, a chimney that is seeing debris fall away from itself will only get weaker, which means that more debris may fall from your roof, and it could potentially lead to a complete collapse of your entire chimney if left any longer.
Keep people, pets, cars and valuables away from the danger zone and call a roofing expert to inspect, remove the immediate danger and plan a long-term repair.
