The interior walls within the top floor of my brick 1880s Brooklyn brownstone are peeling.
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| Posted in General Questions on
The walls show signs of water damage in two different rooms. Both rooms have a non-working gas (old manufactured or coal gas) fireplaces where the damage is the most severe. It doesn’t appear that the water damage is caused by a roof leak. The roof is flat and in good condition.
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Replies
Chris,
And your question is ... ?
well chris im not sure what your ? was but if your askin what casued the damage its many possibliities one being the fire place is in a sence a gigantic infiltration point for moisture and water condensation if it was in use it would draw air and moisture not only from the intake but every leak and hole that is in the house or building so you have an area of heat that is under the STACK EFFECT it draws in and moves all colder air out creating condensation. this could be one source of the damage, but since you say they are not workin its not likely the draw but your still victim to the Stack because its is a major exfiltration pointwhch will leave moisture in the room and while the room is heated and colder air moves towards the stach of the chimney it can create condensation as well.
If this is a new condition, I suspect that it's due to a roof leak. Exfiltration from a leaking chimney will cause condensation only if it's causing infiltration of warm, humid air and the house is air conditioned. If it's heated, then infiltrating air cannot condense.
agreed if this is a new condition it must be either a leak or possible broken piping above
Question is what's causing the water damage and how do I prevent it from occurring again? While the old fireplaces are non-working ( they used manufactured gas for light maybe even heat ; they were never wood burning) I believe they are NOT really properly sealed on each floor. I even smell a musty odor at times on some floors. The house has 4 floors with 2 different sets of fireplaces. The peeling / water damage is occurring on the top floor - either right next to the chimney stack or within 3-4 feet.
Condition is relatively new - as the rooms were painted over 7 years ago. One chimney is lined with a metal insert that was installed about 4-5 years ago. At that time the wall plaster covering the chimney was just slightly damaged and I thought it was due to a leaking chimney. I had a camera inserted to inspect the flue - the ceramic collar type - each joint a ~ 2 feet apart. While it looked OK - installed a new metal chimney flue anyway for the chimney that vents the hot water and gas heating system. But just recently (last several months) the walls in both the front and back rooms ( there are two separate old chimneys going from the basement up - with bluestone cap) - e showed more moisture stains / peeling / bubble damage that was on the walls in both rooms but closer to the chimney. NO PIPES are in the flat ceiling above. I even blew insulation into the back room's ceiling last year.
Mr. Jason Green, I think you are totally off the mark with your comments. Where did you get that idiotic information from? Did you even pay attention to the training you claim to have? What training do have anyway? The stack effect has notjhing to do with the water damage on the walls, it is probably related to leaving the windows open while it was raining.And by the way, 2 days left.
HAHAHA CHARLIE YOU CHARACTER pay no attention to my class mate chris he is making a joe but since your sayin its close to the stack i would say its either a leak in the pointing if it's brick or cement type, if not the sealin and flashing would be where i would look for this issue
If the walls are peeling because of the fireplace, try switching to a ventless one. Worked for me on early 1900's brownstone.
Jeff,
I disagree strongly with your advice. If there are signs of an interior moisture problem, a ventless fireplace (that is, a fireplace that releases all of its combustion by-products, including moisture, into your living room) will only make things worse. All combustion appliances should be vented.
Do you heat the top floor? Are the walls north facing? What does the damage look like? Is the musty odor throughout the house? Do you have a very wet basement with a large boiler in it? Maybe these walls feel damp in the winter? Did this condition show up over the last heating season? Maybe the problem is high humidity in the home and those unsealed fireplaces dumping cold air in those rooms? I'm no expert on this, just throwing it out there.