Sooty and sweep

[88v8]

In the torrential horizontal rain a couple weeks ago, a lot of water came down one of the chimneys.

I had put a raincap on the flue even though our stove installer, perhaps under the impression that we live in Arizona, had initially wanted none, but apparently in this extreme storm the overhang was insufficient &/or the opening too large, so this will be revisited when we change the pot this summer.



In the meantime, and leaving aside how the water got into the actual stack and why the register plate wasn't properly sealed, a lot of soot has washed down. This despite the fact that our sweep had spent a good hour inside the flue removing the soot as far as possible before the stove was installed.
There is, or was, a miniature Athabasca tar lake in the hearth (no mammoths) which I have mostly soaked out with newspaper, the formerly clean yellow bricks at the back have shiny tar streaks down them. It's gone from being a rather nice fireplace to a blooming tarry mess.

The tar washes off the granite setts that form the hearth bed, but readily stains the pointing. At present, the damage is largely at the back of the fireplace and not too visible, but I can see that in the process of cleaning up I could easily make matters worse given the ease with which sooty water splashes could sink irremovably into the lime pointing,

So, what's best for cleaning off this mess? Logically, water brought it here, therefore water should remove it, but as so often in life, it ain't that simple.
I foresee the possibility of not removing the tar very effectively, and in the process spreading it around.

Being a car buff, I reach for something like Gunk, but that in itself is rather oily.
Jizer?

Any guidance appreciated.

Ivor

 

[Flyfisher]

That's a real shame. Looking at your photo, I'd guess that the rain was blown underneath the rain cap and down the outside of the liner - unless there are other holes/cracks in the actual stack?

Unfortunately, while you're right that water brought the tar down it's will only have been the excess tar in the chimney being carried down. Now it has settled onto (into ) new brickwork I doubt it will be moved again by water alone. I agree with your instincts about some form of detergent or even solvent being required, but that also risks spreading the tar and unless you can completely remove all traces then some staining will remain.

Likening it to cleaning an oily old tractor engine, gunk/jizer type things work very well but only (I think) because it's relatively easy to scrub away to loosen the gunge and then pressure wash with copious amounts of water. Even the careful use of petrol can help by dissolving some of the gunk - none of which is really practical for indoor use. Plus, of course, the surface being cleaned is not porous.

I wonder if one of those steam-cleaning vacuum cleaner gadgets would do the trick? The steam should soften/loosen the tar and the suction should remove the gunky water before it has a chance to spread and cause more staining. But I say 'should' because I'm only guessing. Good luck with whatever you try.

 

[Penners]

I've never tried it myself, but I wonder whether this stuff would work:-

http://www.hotspotonline.co.uk/products/fireplace-cleaner

 

[88v8]

Bought this Swarfega Oil & Grease remover, in Halfords but it's available elsewhere such as
http://www.screwfix.com/p/swarfega-oil-grease-remover-2ltr/50166?kpid=50166&cm_mmc=Google-_-Product%20Listing%20Ads-_-Sales%20Tracking-_-sales%20tracking%20url&gclid=CJSi2JKZsrwCFYjLtAodB2AA6g

Also hired a wet 'n dry vacuum, only £80 :shock:

The Swarfega instructions say to use 50:1 or, bizarrely, to use undiluted.
Anyway, I soaked up the worst of the tarwater with scrunched newspaper and then applied the cleaner diluted roughly 1:1. Put it on with a paintbrush, then agitated with an old nylon washing-up brush, in stages beginning at the top, then, separately, the hearth.
Left 5 minutes then washed off with minimum water using a pump-up garden sprayer.

It worked remarkably well. Some streaks remain down the yellow bricks, albeit much paler. The hearth itself has cleaned up almost completely, even the cement pointing. Most impressed with the vacuum, which I never used before.
I think if I revisit the job with undiluted cleaner, it will polish up even more.
Pretty strong stuff, has attacked the coating on the brass vent at the back of the fireplace.

Alas, there must be a tarpuddle atop the register plate - despite attempts to deter it with a blowlamp, it continues to drip gently from a couple of points.
I have left some newspaper in-situ, and will defer further operations until we can remove the chimneypot later this year. Then I shall make a better seal at the top of the flueliner and drill a drain hole to the outside of the stack so that such water as gets past the (new and wider) cowl will drain out rather than seeping down the stack.
At that point I suppose I shall have to do something about the tarpuddle, yuk.
Well is it said that anything worth doing is worth doing at least twice. :?

Ivor

 

[88v8]

Two nights ago, more wind 'n rain, the tar ran down the fireback once more... so, today, up the ladder to the top of the stack.
I find that since last summer, the flaunching has cracked away from the coping (good ole Mr Sun again ) and there are some visible tracks where the rain has got under the 10" rainhat and run down the flue. Two possible means of ingress.

Out with that bodger's tool the sealant gun, masticed the flaunching cracks, then removed the 10" hat and replaced it with a 12" chinaman's hat. Looks chronic, but I'm not outside to see it.

If this doesn't cure the problem, then the water's getting in somewhere else.

Hopefully the sparks will still be able to get out when we light the stove, but that has become somewhat of a secondary consideration. At least the thatch is too wet to catch alight at present.

Ivor

 

[Penners]

Out with that bodger's tool the sealant gun

Nonsense! This is a bodger's tool - the excellent pole lathe. A bodger is a highly skilled worker.

 

[88v8]

In the garden cutting up the top of the plum tree that broke off in the wind glanced at the house where the ladder still leans against the stack, saw that the giant new rainhat was gone :shock:

Found it 100ft away across the lane, wither it must have sailed like a flying saucer, or discus had anyone's head been in the way. It was buried edge-on in the earth bank, and had taken with it the flue skirt so that both the flue and the stack were open to the rain.

Fortunately it wasn't actually raining.

A couple of perilous essays up the ladder saw the previous unsatisfactory rainhat reinstated. Did I say the previous hat was 10"...it was actually 13" and the blown-off replacement was 18". Tomorrow I shall straighten/modify the 18" version and put it back.

Urrrgh

Ivor

 

[plasticpigeon]

Bummer. I know you aren't the greatest fan of health and safety, but this isn't the best weather to be up a ladder! Stay safe.

 

[Penners]

the giant new rainhat was gone

One of the problems with rainhats - it has always struck me - is that they are a kind of aerofoil section. So wind blowing horizontally across them is bound to create lift. I wonder whether creating some kind of spoiler setup on the top surface might reduce this tendency - a shallow helical fin, or some such?

No experts have been hurt in the composition of this post - just amateur musings.

 

[Feltwell]

I wonder whether creating some kind of spoiler setup on the top surface might reduce this tendency

Something like this perchance? With the added bonus of making your chimney look well wicked'n'sporty, init.

No experts have been hurt in the composition of this post

No, but a few have been appalled by the quality of the reply.

 

[Nimster]

Our rainhat is tied on with wire. Wrapped round the pot, then looped over the hat to form a cross on the top. Looks like a trussed chicken, but seems to work

 

[Penners]

Something like this perchance? With the added bonus of making your chimney look well wicked'n'sporty, init.

Good plan, Feltwell. That should ensure that the house doesn't become airborne.

:roll:

 

[LadyArowana]

Something like this perchance? With the added bonus of making your chimney look well wicked'n'sporty, init.

Good plan, Feltwell. That should ensure that the house doesn't become airborne.

:roll:

and with a few more it will stay nice and cool too :lol:

 

[Flyfisher]

Something like this perchance? With the added bonus of making your chimney look well wicked'n'sporty, init.

Good plan, Feltwell. That should ensure that the house doesn't become airborne.

:roll:

Indeed - remember what happened to Dorothy.

 

[LadyArowana]

Something like this perchance? With the added bonus of making your chimney look well wicked'n'sporty, init.

Good plan, Feltwell. That should ensure that the house doesn't become airborne.

:roll:

Indeed - remember what happened to Dorothy.

She named her dog after a Japanese toilet, it was always going to lead to problems.

 

[Penners]

She named her dog after a Japanese toilet

Nonsense! She named him after an outstandingly good rock band.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FTQbiNvZqaY

 

[Flyfisher]