As a home inspector our main job is to educate our clients. Many times our clients are unaware of certain features on a home and one of the ones that most people don’t realize the importance of chimney crickets. A chimney crickets main purpose is simple, to route water away and around the base of the chimney. Without this feature water running down the roof will hit a wall. This can lead to issues like wood decay, flashing failure and eventually a roof leak.
Does it meet code?
Modern code states that any chimney wider than 30” must have this built in. But what about homes built 20-30 years ago? Many did not have this feature and many home owners state that they have always had issues with leaks around the chimney. This simple feature could fix many issues homeowners with old chimneys face. Here are a few photos of 2 homes in the same neighborhood and built the same year. One house was built with a chimney cricket and one was not. Note how much more decay there is around the base of the chimney without.
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