Response from American Professional Chimney & Masonry
Thanks for the great review. I'm glad we resolved your water leak problem. Many water leaks are resolved with a heavy application of industrial quality water repellent that prevents water entry but allows the masonry to dry out as it does allow water vapor to escape. This drying process is critical as trapped moisture may damage masonry. I will elaborate in a moment. It is fairly rare that we find additional repairs are required because we perform thorough inspections, even when all we are doing is a chimney cleaning or minor repairs. We don't just do that to get more work. Chimney safety is very important and many of our clients are selling or buying a home. In that situation or any situation for that matter, you don't want any surprises and neither do we! Professionalism dictates complete inspections with full disclosure. Masonry is porous and water absorption into chimneys or any other masonry structures (including concrete), causes freeze thaw damage that usually begins internally. I also leaches essential binding agents like lime and calcium out of the cement. Over time this can significantly weaken masonry (or concrete) and also allow further water penetration and eventually allows water leakage into the living area, presenting itself as plaster or drywall staining, etc. Internal and external inspections do not reveal damage between layers of brick. Dismantling masonry does reveal this deterioration and sometimes the need for additional repairs is indicated because unanticipated damage is discovered. The most common occurrences of this nature happen when we remove, for example, 15 courses (rows) of brick from the top of a chimney and discover next few courses of brick are loose because the bond between the brick and mortar has failed due to freeze thaw expansion and contraction and/or leaching of essential minerals or the cement has deteriorated so much that it has pretty much turned back into sand, which is by far its major and only non-degradable component. Again a trained eye and years of experience minimize the frequency of finding unforeseen issues, making them fairly rare, but it does happen from time to time. We are always glad to provide photos upon request to illustrate any issues we see. I am grateful for your understanding these circumstances and truly appreciate you mentioning them in your review. This provides me with the opportunity to explain masonry deterioration and water leakage to all of Angie's member's and I really have nowhere else to do so except in our website, which members don't always visit. Dave Myers owner, My personal cell phone # is 202-468-5596