Cracked crowns letting water into the chimney
Why it happens here
Crowns crack from freeze-thaw cycles and from age. Bull Run's hard winters push water into hairline cracks, which freeze and widen them. Once the crown fails, water runs down the flue and into the house.
Our approach
We remove the failed crown mix, rebuild the crown with a proper slope so it sheds water, and seal it. We also check the flashing while we are up there, since crown and flashing failures often happen together.