A chimney on a bungalow is closer to the ground than one on a three-storey terrace, which makes people treat it as less of a problem. On an exposed site like Porthcawl that is the wrong conclusion, and the reason has more to do with where the stack stands than how high it is.
Two things matter more than the drop. What is underneath it, and how hard the wind hits it.
On a bungalow the stack is short, but the eaves are low, the building sits close to its boundaries, and the ground below is frequently a path, a patio, a drive or a pavement rather than an inaccessible roof slope. Masonry falling six metres onto a path somebody uses is a more serious situation than masonry falling twelve metres into a gap between two houses.
And on this coast the wind loading is genuinely high. A stack on an exposed point with open water in front of it takes the full force of an onshore gale on one face, with nothing upwind to slow it.
If a pot is leaning, a stack looks out of plumb, or you can see loose masonry, keep the ground below clear and tell us when you call. On a low building that ground is usually somewhere people actually walk. Warn anyone whose property or path it overlooks.
Strong onshore winds carry spray well inland. Nottage and Newton are not exempt, and neither is anywhere else in the town.
Salt does two things to a chimney. It accelerates corrosion of every metal fixing in the assembly — the clips, nails and wedges holding the lead flashing at the base — and it crystallises inside porous brick, which is one of the causes of faces flaking and blowing off.
Lead itself copes with a marine atmosphere well. Its fixings do not, and neither do the mortar joints it is dressed into. That is why flashing is usually the first part of a coastal chimney to fail.
Lifted flashing is the most common cause of a storm leak with no visible roof damage at all. The covering looks perfect from the road, nothing has come off, and water is getting in at the junction. If damp has appeared on or beside a chimney breast, that is where to look first.
Worth a separate mention in a town where a lot of property fronts the promenade, the seafront roads and busy pavements.
If your chimney overlooks a public footway, a shared parking area or a road, the situation is not only yours. Say so when you call so the job is prioritised accordingly, and if there is an immediate risk to the public, contact your local authority as well. It is also worth photographing the condition before anything is done, which protects you if a question arises later.
One practical quirk. On a bungalow with a hipped roof, the chimney often emerges partway up a slope rather than at a gable, which means the flashing runs around all four sides of the stack and includes a back gutter behind it.
That back gutter is the hidden one. It catches everything running down the slope above the chimney and has to move it round to either side, and it is completely invisible from the ground. Blocked or failed, it puts water in behind the stack — and it is a common finding on roofs where the flashing at the front and sides looks perfectly sound.
A real issue in a resort town, and the reason some of the worst chimney damage we see is on the best-kept houses.
Storm damage to a stack announces itself in ways that need somebody present to notice: a bang in the night, mortar debris on the patio, a damp patch appearing on a bedroom ceiling over a fortnight. On a property that is empty from October to Easter, none of that gets noticed, and a small failure has an entire winter to become a large one.
We are happy to carry out an inspection and send a written report with photographs to an owner who is not local, which is often the practical answer for a property nobody visits in winter.
Flashing patched with mastic or roofing cement rather than properly dressed lead. Cheaper on the day, and it sets rigid while the stack and roof move at different rates, so it cracks — usually within a few years, and faster on this coast.
It also makes the proper repair dearer later, because the old material has to come off first. If a flashing quotation is markedly cheaper than the others, ask specifically what material is being used.
T & T Roofing South Wales assesses the stack, the flashing and the roof covering around it together across Porthcawl, Nottage and Newton. Quotations are free and without obligation.
Not necessarily. The drop is shorter but the ground below is usually a path, patio or pavement people actually use, and on an exposed coastal site the wind loading on the stack is high.
Usually the flashing at the base, or on a hipped roof the back gutter behind the stack, which is invisible from the ground. Both let water in at the junction with nothing showing on the covering.
On a chimney that comes through partway up a slope, it is the channel behind the stack that catches water running down from above and moves it round to either side. Blocked or failed, it puts water in behind the chimney.
Almost always the seaward face. Salt crystallising inside porous brick, plus frost on saturated masonry, is what blows the faces off, and that side takes the most of both.
Storm damage in Porthcawl? T & T Roofing South Wales will assess the roof, explain what needs repairing and give you a free, no-obligation quotation. Storm Damage Roof Repairs Porthcawl has the full detail, or call us on 07766 547309.
Tell us what the weather has done and what you can see from the ground. We will come back to you — usually the same day.
If water is coming in now, please call rather than email — 07766 547309.
