Roof leak drips onto stove - how big a problem?

[Chris Cringle]

As luck would have it, I am getting a stove installed at the same time I appear to have developed a small leak around my chimney. Not much of a leak, a drop every 30 seconds or so, only during torrential rain and accompanied by strong winds. Roofer has tried to fix with no luck and will be coming back soon. It does not drip directly onto where the stove will be. The drops hit the end of the mantle a foot or more to the side (and a couple feet above, obviously) from the edge of the stove. The drops splatter a tiny bit and little drops would land on the stove. We put a dish at the drip impact point with a small towel laying inside to prevent splatter.

Question I have is, if there is a little splatter onto the stove, are there likely to be ill affects? It does not seem to me that there would be, given how little water we are talking about and with the roof being fixed soon God willing. But welcome comments. Cold front coming in and would like to be able to use the stove and not have it covered up with a tarp or a garbage bag or something. Thanks in advance for any comments. CC

 

[Del_]

Have you considered some type of container to catch the drip?

 

[Mad Professor]

 

[sean donato]

The drip likely wont harm the stove, but I'd be more worried about your roof. Hopefully you get that taken care of.

 

[softdown]

Roof leaks are serious - get it fixed. Your attic is likely retaining most of the moisture and that can rot things in due time. The roof and flashing sealant is a good idea.

Says the guy with a sunroom leak. Though this is an alpine desert.

 

[dave_dj1]

Find a better roofer!
Is this a cathedral ceiling or flat with attic above?

 

[muddstopper]

Amazon.com: HENRY HE208042 Gal Roof Cement, 0.90 gal (3.41L),Black: Home Improvement
Henry is the only way to go. You can find it at Homedepot and Lowes and it even comes in caulking tubes. I had a problem with water running down the chimney and tried several different products. The other products worked for a while but eventually dried and shrunk opening up cracks. The Henry doesnt dry out and shrink, or at least it hasnt in the past three years and the seal is still good. It is messy tho and I advise long sleeve shirt and gloves as well as one of those cheap, throw away, plastic putty knifes.

 

[TimberWolf530]

Any splatter on the stove will instantly boil off, so the stove would be the least of my worries. Roof leaks ONLY get worse. They NEVER get better. They will also eventually rot everything between where they start, and where you see it. What you are seeing as only a small drip could be a puddle in the attic. It won't be so small when it eventually saturates the gypsum board ceiling(if that's what you have) and a large section collapses. It's good that you have already contacted a roofer. With roof leaks, it can sometimes be very difficult to trace the origin.

 

[TimberWolf530]

View attachment 876838
Find a better roofer!
Is this a cathedral ceiling or flat with attic above?

Just FYI, as an alternative to Flex Seal, Menards sells this Ultima kit with twice as much goo as Flex Seal ( 32 oz vs 16 oz) and includes fiberglass mat for about the same price. About 4 years ago, I used this kit with the fiberglass mat to patch our 1600 gallon water wagon that is pretty much full all the time for 7-8 months a year, and empty outside in the winter for the balance of the year, and it has held. I have also used it to patch leaks on the metal roof of the barn with good results. It's clear and remains flexible.

 

[ChasSC]

Just had my chimney done. The flashing was "clogged" causing the water to run under the shingles. Shingles were 20 years old, so I was having the house shingled anyway. They has to replace the flashing on the back and repair some of the side. I would also recommend having a different roofer look at your job before it gets worse.

 

[husky455rancher]

When I first bought my house the roof was leaking all over the place. I didn’t have the money for a roof so I bought a gallon of roofing tar and went at the leaks. I just redid the spots every year or so And got maybe 15 years out of it. I did get the roof done a few years ago finally. The over all roof wasn’t bad I don’t know why it just leaked in random spots.

 

[old CB]

Hope your roof leak situation has been addressed satisfactorily.

What you described is unlikely to hurt your woodburner.

Roof leaks can be tricky. Where the water exits below does not always tell you where it enters above. All the best patch material means nothing unless the actual problem is located and corrected.