My husband and I have lived in an 80+ yr old sand stone house for about a year.. One chimney started leaking soon after we moved in the other started a couple of months age. Tne roof has only been on the house for 5 yrs but the roofers didn't put the flashing back on the chimneys. The walls are made of concrete and plaster over that. On closer inspection, and in two places the concrete has turned to sand fron obviously years worth of water damage. The roof is pine boards with two layers of asphalt shingles on them. What would be the best way to stop these leaks once and for all. The remodel is at a standstill untill I get this fixed. My husband and I usually do the work ourselves but this is a job neither of us knows what to do with. There is tar where someone has tried to fix it on the roof and chimneys. They obviously fixed it long enough to repair the walls and sell it to us. then it started back. What is the right way to do it? I don't want it to be a continuous problem like it has obviously been in the past. Thanks for any input. Angie Dobson

Stone chimneys are notoriously porous, and the chimney itself must have a full jacket of metal flashing concealed within the stonework. This is often not done, and could explain the many years worth of water damage. The flashing jscket starts at the flue, and steps down and out until it reaches the roof, where it is flashed into the roof. To install it, remove all the stone between the roof and the top of the chimney, have a good sheet-metal person build the jacket, with all soldered seams, and then replace the stone.

These chimneys are over 80 yrs old, they are just made from 8"thick sand stone with a lining of smaller stone inside the fire place. I don't know how far up that goes, Im guessing not far.
To tear the chimneys off the house and rebuild them would be a very large project. The stones probably weigh from 80 lbs close to the top to 200 lbs from the middle to the bottom.and they probably 9 or 10 ft tall! Another problem is that two of them were built in a vally between two amd three roof pitches.so water is going towards them in all directions. It is a bad mistake thet was made when the house was built.Also the house had a thick wood shake roof on it and the mortar comes out like a small ledge where the roof used to be. The new roof should have been built up to the ledge Now it has thin shingles on it so youi can imagine. But... The roof is only 5 yrs old and it is not in the budget to replace it yet. I am looking for a s solution so I can fix the interior walls and continue the remodel on the inside.We are putting vent free gas logs in two of the fireplaces so the chimneys won't be used and one of them was for a cooking stove in the kitchen so it wont either so I don't need them in working order. Thanks for the input. Sorry so windy Angie Dobson

Try calling a sheet metal expert to review the exterior. Installing ice and water shield under the area valleys (roofing contractor) and step flashing/counter flashing system (sheet metal co) should work. Temp seal the exposed stone above the roof line with clear sealer may help. Make sure mortar joints are pointed. You said flashing was removed when house was reroofed and joint was tar sealed. Adding flashing back would seem to be answer.

Thanks for all the input. We do most of the work on our house ourselves and we also work for other people. Doing plumbing , electric, finish work,paint,landscaping and many other jobs I feel comfortable doing myself. We have put on metal roofs before too, all that stuff is pretty straight forward but the old chimneys were a different story. There were many different opinions about what to do so I went ahead and called a local roofing company to come and fix them. They used caulk and metal flashing screwed directly to the stone. They gave me a year warranty to come back and repair it if it leaks.It came a torrential rain (almost flooding) that lasted for days after they did it and it has not leaked yet so I am keeping my fingers crossed. I will go ahead and fix the walls and hope for the best. Thanks Angie D.