Chimney Breast

[JoeyB]

My upstairs chimney breast was wet .The roofer sorted the flashing out .The breast is sticky with wallpaper glue. I dry it with hair dryer but after a while it goes sticky again . My cheap damp meter goes mad when I test the area .Any ideas .

[dilligaf]

You didnt mention if the chimney was being used. If not it should be capped to stop rain water getting into it but it still must allow air in. If the fire place is sealed there should be an air brick / vent to allow for the air flow. If the chimney is sealed dampness will occur. If the roof is ok there could be a problem with the outside wall where I assume the chimney is.
Whatever it needs to be sorted before winter.
Hope this is of some help.

[Ace_Bridger]

Chimneys which are open at the top and not 'capped' below the roof line should habe been built with a tray to help sealing.

This 'tray' is runs through the whole chimney and should be visable in the external brickwork. The tray is normally made of lead, or modern equiv. The tray can degrade over time so it's worth checking the condition. If it does need replacing it's not a cheap job as a new tray has to be put in place between the bricks, not easy.

My chimney breast was damp. I didn't need the facility of an open fire so I took the chimney down and re-tiled over...job done.

Hope this helps,

Ace

[stanleyman]

Assuming the original problem was just the flashing and the roofer has done a good job then it will still need many months to dry out properly. Ventilate the room well and use a dehumidifier to speed up the drying.

[ath007]

It will take a while to dry out, when dry enough paint over the decorated finish with an oil based undercoat, reapply your top coat of emulsion - staining should not then occur from the dried out area.