🧱 ⚒ Chimney with improper height for wood burning fireplace

This video is an example of a true brick mason chimney with fireplace that has been rebuilt from the roof line up. The cause of the rebuilt is not known, however, the height of the rebuild is incorrect. It is imperative for wood burning fireplaces and chimneys to be installed two feet above the roof line within a radius of 10 feet. The chimney height extension is to prevent wind causing downdraft. Other reasons may include fire hazards such as hot embers releasing at top of liner onto roof surfaces for excessive wood burning chimneys.
©2020 Home inspection by John Frejeris "Watch & Learn" ™👀

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: Brick Masonry
Brick is a very good, solid, quality exterior cladding material and not used much today because of the cost of materials. Older construction is where you will find more applications of brick cladding. Moisture is the biggest problem in Northern region residential construction brick depending on the type of brick, application and maintenance. When water penetrations inside brick it freezes, expands and pops the face of the brick off, known as spalling. When brick is made it is baked creating flat surfaces not intended to be porous. Once the face of a brick (or concrete) is chipped its now porous which allows water to enter in to that hard material allowing moisture to enter into further areas causing even more damage. If you see white powder forming on the face of a brick that is efflorescent mineral deposits indicating that water is bleeding through. That is not a good sign. Determining where the water is entering into the brick is imperative to prevent spalling and further damage.

As for brick chimneys, the top is what is called the crown which is designed to shed water & snow from entering into the top of the brick & chimney. These concrete crowns will sometimes form cracks or open joints to allow water to enter into the top areas of brick.

If you or someone you know has brick siding or brick chimney, this information may be used to evaluate it and save hundreds and even thousands of dollars, just by repairing damage found NOW and preventing any continuing damage.
Problems resulting from moisture penetration may include: efflorescence, spalling (face of brick chipping off), deteriorating mortar joints, interior moisture damage, etc. Once one or more of these conditions becomes evident, the direct source of moisture penetration should be determined and action taken to correct both the visible effect and the moisture penetration source. If it is not corrected, the exposed areas will continue to absorb moisture causing more damage.
Tuck-pointing Deteriorated Mortar Joints: Moisture may penetrate mortar, which has softened, deteriorated or developed visible cracks. When this is the case, tuck-pointing may be necessary to reduce moisture penetration and further damage. Tuck-pointing is a process of cutting out old mortar to a uniform depth and placing new mortar in the joint. Prior to the project, the following should be considered:
• Whether or not to use power tools for cutting out old mortar. The use of power tools may damage the brick units surrounding the mortar being cut out.
• A qualified and experienced tuck-pointing craftsman should be considered to do any tuck-pointing. Making the wrong mortar mixture or applying it in the wrong process may cause further damage.