Is your chimney pulling away from your house? Don’t ignore it. This common problem in older homes can have serious consequences. A leaning chimney can drag down your home’s foundation and cause even bigger problems if left unaddressed. Get it repaired before it’s too late.
How Does A Leaning Chimney Impact A House?
A leaning chimney can significantly impact a house, not only in terms of structural stability but also regarding potential health hazards.
When a chimney starts to lean, it can pull away from the roofline or even collapse, causing extensive damage to the house. This damage can include loosening roof tiles, creating gaps in walls and ceilings, and damaging gutters and downpipes, leading to water damage and mold growth.
Moreover, a leaning chimney poses health risks to the house’s occupants. When a chimney cracks or shifts, harmful fumes, such as carbon monoxide, can creep into the house, posing severe health hazards. In addition, the collapse of a chimney can cause injury or death to anyone nearby.
How Does A Leaning Chimney Impact A House?
Chimneys pull away from a house for various reasons. Often, the problem is the foundation under the chimney, or the fact that the chimney doesn’t even have a foundation. Today, chimneys have their own foundations. However, a chimney attached to an older home might not have a foundation at all.
Other reasons chimneys start to lean include, but aren’t limited to:
The chimney has a foundation, but it wasn’t built properly
Chimneys are heavy and that means they need strong, stable foundations. The chimney’s foundation might be too shallow, for example.
The soil wasn’t adequately compacted before the chimney foundation was laid
Soil needs to be properly tamped down before anything gets built on top of it. If it isn’t, the structure could settle into the soil unevenly after it’s built.
There’s expansive soil under the chimney’s foundation
Expansive soil contains a lot of clay and because of this, it swells when it absorbs water and then shrinks when it dries out. This creates movement under a foundation and can, over time, cause a chimney to start leaning.
There’s erosion-prone soil under the chimney’s foundation
Some types of soil are prone to erosion, which can lead to the formation of voids under the chimney’s foundation. If the foundation sinks into the voids, the chimney could start to lean.
How Does A Leaning Chimney Impact A House?
In most cases, you can underpin the chimney with as little as two to four piers. Using push piers or helical piers you can lift and relevel your chimney back to its original position without causing further foundation settlement to your home.
How Does A Leaning Chimney Impact A House?
How Does A Leaning Chimney Impact A House?
If you’ve noticed your chimney is leaning, it’s time to take action and get it repaired. A leaning chimney is serious and, if left untreated, can lead to costly and dangerous consequences for you and your family. Not only could your chimney collapse, causing extensive property damage, but it could also result in life-threatening injuries.
Our team of experienced chimney repair professionals specializes in repairing leaning chimneys, using the latest technology and techniques to return your chimney to its original, sturdy state.
Don’t wait until it’s too late. Contact Bay Area Underpinning today to schedule a consultation and prevent further damage to your home.
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