This article is all about providing you with the necessary guidance on choosing the right chimney repair products.
Chimney crowns are large slabs that help cover the top of the chimney. These also help protect the flue as well as the masonry. Without the crown, your chimney quickly deteriorates.
If your chimney crown is in a state of disrepair, you’ll need to have it fixed immediately.
To successfully do this, you’ll need to have the right repair products. Chimney repair products come in a variety of brands. These are designed for specific tasks as you’ll soon find out.
Common Issues with Chimney Crowns
Most chimney crowns often need repairs to fix certain issues such as structural integrity, cracks, as well as chipped or missing pieces of the concrete structure. These don’t happen magically but are caused by certain conditions.
Weather action is mostly to blame. This ranges from storms to severe weather.
Plus, the constant freeze-thaw cycle which is a yearly event results in a weakening of your chimney crown. What happens is that moisture found in a chimney crown expands and contracts due to the weather action.
Such expansion and contraction eventually lead to cracks that have to be fixed before they worsen. Thankfully several products help with fixing such damage. These only need to be purchased and put to good use.
Commercial Products for Chimney Crown Repair
When it comes to fixing a chimney crown in disrepair, there are several products you can count on. The most popular of these include CrownGuard HP, CrownCoat, CrownSaver, and CrownSeal.
All of these have their specific uses in getting an excellent repair job done.
Let’s discuss each of these as follows;
i. CrownGuard HP
Chimney repair technicians have come to trust this product as reliable and capable of correcting all sorts of chimney crown issues. It’s a product of Fire Safe Inc. and includes a blend of chemical compounds that promotes bonding to all sorts of chimney masonry surfaces.
As part of the design to guard against weather action, this chimney crown repair product has rubber-like properties.
In other words, it’s quite flexible and totally prevents water penetration via the chimney crown.
What more? CrownGuard HP also protects your chimney crown from the freeze-thaw cycle.
- Additional Benefits
There are lots of other associated benefits when it comes to CrownGuard HP’s use.
These include crystal clear & mildew resistance, being a preferred product by lots of chimney professionals, and also serving as a permanent waterproof membrane.
This chimney crown repair product is economical & easy to reseal, doesn’t crack, has ultraviolet resistant abilities, and is ideal for extreme weather conditions.
- How to Use CrownGuard HP
As a chimney technician, this won’t be necessary as you’ve probably used this product countless times. However, persons using this for the first time only need to follow the use instructions on the product.
It’s advisable to seek expert help in getting your chimney crown fixed than getting the job done yourself. Without the right equipment, climbing to the top of the chimney can be quite risky.
Experience is required to perform this task.
ii. CrownSeal
CrownSeal is another chimney crown repair product that forms a flexible coating over your chimney crown. This flexible coating doubles as a waterproof membrane that not only fixes cracks by keeps water and moisture out.
If you’re looking for a chimney crown product that requires no mixing, CrownSeal fits the bill. It comes ready to use and can be applied to your chimney crown within a short time.
From the time of application, it takes CrownSeal about 6 hours to dry. Complete curing only takes about 24 hours tops.
Apart from being used for chimney crown repair, CrownSeal also doubles as a bonding mortar for fixing spalled bricks. With this chimney crown repair product, no additional bonding agents are required.
You have the choice of coloring this product using standard mortar dyes.
CrownSeal is available for purchase in different sizes. These range from 2 and 5-gallon pails. You’ll need to go for what fits your needs. The warranty description on the product lasts a year.
- Using CrownSeal
For CrownSeal to be effective, it needs to be used properly. Refer to the use of instruction accompanying the product.
However, this won’t be necessary when carried out by a professional.
iii. CrownCoat
Another reliable product you can use for your chimney crown repair is CrownCoat. Like CrownSeal, it’s another product from ChimneySaver, a household name in quality chimney products manufacture.
CrownCoat is designed to be easily applied onto chimney crown surfaces.
To apply these, you only need 3 or 4-inch brushes. CrownCoat comes ready to use with no need for applying any bonding agents. Plus, the manufacturer takes pride in its environmentally safe product.
When you need a long-lasting waterproof coating for a chimney crown, CrownCoat comes in handy. It’s also quite versatile and can be used on masonry tops, chimney corbels, and parapet walls.
Are you concerned that this product won’t have your preferred color? You don’t need to worry.
CrownCoat can easily be colored using standard mortar dye. This helps you blend its look to fit your chimney crown.
- How to Use
If you prefer the DIY option, you may want to follow all the use instructions on the product label. Otherwise, a professional should handle the job for you.
iv. CrownSaver
CrownSaver is a cement-based chimney crown repair product you can trust. It’s perfect for long-term repair and comes ready to use. When applied to a chimney crown, it serves as a waterproof barrier.
With a warranty period of 10 years, CrownSaver offers you all the confidence you need to use it for a variety of chimney crown jobs.
This product is carefully engineered and consists of a blend of polymer modified hydraulic cement. This also includes powdered water repellent.
To use CrownSaver effectively, you’ll need to cover your chimney crown with Formfoil.
Next, make a mixture of water, fine mason’s sand, and about a scoop of CrownSaver. When well mixed, apply to a thickness of about half an inch over the crown.
These are some of the most popular chimney crown repair products you can use. Each of these has been used and is still being used by professionals. It’s important to state that proper application is necessary.
Little can be achieved in terms of fixing a damaged chimney crown without knowing how to use these products. Your best bet will be to involve professional chimney repair services.