Chimney leaking into bathroom

[ColD]

Nightmare problem, any suggestions welcome. Literally the night before new bathroom to be fitted, heavy rain left a big damp spot on the wall.

Recently moved into a house constructed in the 1980s. I've included a pic of the side of the house where the chimney is and a pic that was the way the bathroom was when we moved in. There was a fireplace containing a back boiler in the dining room below but when we moved in but we got this removed. Chimney was swept and bricked up with a vent.

The pic with the wallpaper was the way it was decorated and you can see there is water damage on the ceiling and the wallpaper was just about hanging onto the wall. When stripped back it looks as if the problem has been there for some time and someone has had a go at filling cracks.

When the rain was particularly heavy, smaller damp patches appeared to the left of this patch at the top of a velux window and also on the ceiling of the dining room below. Also I checked in the roofspace above the bathroom and the blockwork above the bathroom seemed to have a damp spot.

I've had a roofer check the chimney and there were a couple of tiles that needed replacing and they replaced the leadwork. I know this guy and have no reason to distrust him. When the work was done everything seemed to dry up nicely...

Until more heavy rain this weekend and we are back to the damp spot on the bathroom wall.

Bit of a nightmare, as the roofer is coming back to take a look but seems baffled. And we can't replace the bathroom which is sorely needed as we've now been in a year.

Any words of wisdom most gratefully appreciated.

[Ken010]

Could I suggest you have your roofer look at installing "vented" caps on the chimneys?

Ken.

[ColD]

Thanks Ken010...

I'm a decent diyer but this is beyond me. If the lead work and tiling are watertight I'm wondering how so much water is getting in.

I should say that the pic of the chimney is from when we bought the house. One pot i think was just cometic the other for the fireplace now has one of those clay pepperpot style ones in it. Is that the sort of thing you mean?

[Ken010]

Short answer is yes, the Pepper pot "thing" is a chimney vent.

What can / does happen is that rain water falls down an open topped chimney, every time it rains, this water gets in but has no where to go.

Can I suggest you try another very, very simple test ? Hold a single sheet of Loo Paper close to the vent in the room at the vent, the tissue should be sucked towards the vent, or? blown away from the vent.

This test is to see if there is indeed a flow of air inside the chimney flue If there is some sort of a blockage then the tissue does nothing, if there is a draught and the vent is working then the tissue will move.

It is important that the flue has a flow of air to get rid of Condensation that will occur in a closed space.

Ken.

[ColD]

Ken, thanks a million...really appreciate this.

Have already shelled out for the repairs and to be honest I've no way of inspecting and even if i had access I wouldnt know what im looking for. I just know I don't have the money to be hit for hundreds if the outcome is the same each time.

I wasn't sure what would happen but there is a strong upward pull on tissue paper.

[Ken010]

It looks as if the flue you did the test with the paper is allowing a good going draught which is what you are looking for.

But? in the picture there two chimney pots? what happens with the "other" flue? is it a live fire or is that one blocked up as well?

Just a consideration?

Ken.

[ColD]

Ken, thanks for taking the time to reply again.

Yes, surprisingly powerful updraught with the wind.

Flue was swept before the back boiler and fireplace removed. Nothing unusual seemed to come from that.

The two pots. I can't be 100% certain but there is a chimney towards the other end of the house. That was double flue, one for an open fire, the other for venting the oil fired central heating which is now gone. The gas boiler is vented out the side of the house and not the old flue. So in the picture there are two pots but I think only ever one active flue.

I am started to hear of other folk in this part of the development having had similar problems. Seems the houses were rather thrown up and the chimneys may not have been built correctly, though I'm not certain what this means.

I'm also not sure who to call for help. As I say the roofer seems convinced his re-leading etc was sound and seems baffled. It was dear enough to have this done and want to fork out another load to have another leak.

It's funny the stress it can cause, the bathroom was in a right state when we moved in a year ago and even for the kids sake I can't wait to get this finished. But we need that damp spot gone.

The damp seems to run in a line....there is the breeze block in the roofspace, which is above the blown ceiling and damp spot on the bathroom wall, and then directly below that, that's where the damp spot appears in the dining room below the bathroom, but the patch is about three feet out from the wall. That must have been longstanding as we had that ceiling completely redone as there was obvious damage to it (unfortunately we were led to believe it was the back boiler system).

So Im grateful for anything that helps me figure out what to do.

[wes56]

To get better help can you somehow get photos of the chimney stack and its flashing and the capping. Plus photos of near to the roof lights and their flashing? Opening a roof light and using a camera on a stick might do the trick.

Anyone who goes on your roof, before any work or after any work, should come down with photos for you.

A 1980's lead flashing should merely need re-arranging, not replacing. The lead back gutter should be slightly sloping and about 8" to 10" wide. I can spot dark marks, possibly damp, above your back gutter.
The Artex ceiling should be boarded over, your 1980's Artex might have asbestos in it.
The bathroom wall shows previous crack repairs and mould from long standing damp plaster.
The flat capping on the chimney stack might be allowing water to pool, a photo needed or the cap to be flaunched with mortar.
Can you go above the bathroom into the roof space again, and with plenty of light take a good look at where the chimney breast meets the roof? Look for water stains.