Many Casselberry houses are ranch-style homes with a short brick chimney and a roof that has been replaced more than once since the 1970s. That shapes where leaks here usually start.
Top, sides or roof line
Chimney leaks come from three places. The top: a cracked crown, a missing cap or a rusted chase cover lets rain fall straight in; see crown repair and chase cover replacement. The sides: brick and open mortar joints soak up wind-driven rain, and on a chase, siding seams let water behind. The roof line: step and counter-flashing that were cut short, left loose or only caulked; see flashing repair.
Each needs a different repair, which is why the entry point comes first. On the top alone, caps versus chase covers decides which part is at fault.
What we see on Casselberry roofs
On a short chimney most of the brick is close to the roof, so flashing does a lot of the work. When a ranch house has been reroofed, the flashing detail is the first thing to check.
Trace first, seal last
The most common chimney leak mistake is sealing everything in sight. Surface sealers over failed flashing or a cracked crown don’t last, and a film-forming coating on brick can trap water inside it. Checking one entry point at a time takes longer, but it is the only way the repair lands on the part that actually leaks.
If you’re still at the “what is this?” stage, what water in the firebox usually means explains the common causes.
Repair or waterproofing?
| Feature | Repairing the source | Water repellent |
|---|---|---|
| Fixes | Failed flashing, cracked crowns, missing caps, rusted covers | Brick that absorbs too much rain |
| When | First, always | Only after the masonry is sound |
| Won’t fix | — | Flashing, crown, cap or chase cover leaks |
Fixes
- Repairing the source
- Failed flashing, cracked crowns, missing caps, rusted covers
- Water repellent
- Brick that absorbs too much rain
When
- Repairing the source
- First, always
- Water repellent
- Only after the masonry is sound
Won’t fix
- Repairing the source
- —
- Water repellent
- Flashing, crown, cap or chase cover leaks
Waterproofing doesn’t solve every chimney leak. Applying a vapor-permeable repellent reduces how much rain brick soaks up, but only once the actual entry points are repaired.
Leak repair or chimney repair?
This page is about water getting in. If the chimney is cracked, crumbling, leaning or storm-damaged, that’s the local repair service, and a leak repair may be part of it. When you’re not sure, start with a top-to-bottom chimney check.
Leak repair across Casselberry
Leak tracing and repair are available anywhere in Casselberry, including Lake Kathryn Park. When you get in touch, say where the water shows up and in what kind of weather. For the rest of the house, see our Casselberry service area. The same service covers service for leaking chimneys in Winter Park, Maitland chimney leak repair and leak diagnosis and repair in Winter Springs.
Background reading: how chimney leaks are diagnosed and white stains on chimney brick.
References (3)
Where the Casselberry numbers and code references come from.
