All Forum Posts by: David Triplo

I finally found out where the condensation line was running out of. I was fed up with the issue and just made a much larger hole in the drywall in the bottom unit (where I live) and there were 2 openings in the chimney. There was a ton of insulation inside and outside of it. The corroded pipe was dripping down the chimney, hitting the insulation and then dripping outside of it resulting in my carpet getting wet from one hole. The other hole also has some more hidden water damage where the pipe connects to the plastic pipe. It's good to finally know where it's located, but now it seems like I need to replace the entire pipe going down the 3 story chimney. There's barely any room between the drywall and chimney so if I decide to move the line outside the chimney, it would be a much bigger deal with the drywall project and disrupting my middle tenant. 

If anyone in Chicago has a recommended handyman, HVAC guy or plumber, I would appreciate it. I have my plumber, which wanted to move it outside the chimney, but I'm trying to avoid the bigger project and bill if it's not necessary. I have Roto-Rooter coming Monday for a free quote and a friend's contractor next week, but my friend's contractor probably can't resolve the problem relatively soon.

Sadly there’s no close bathroom or kitchen, which is why the plumber quoted me at 3k to move the pipe and knock down a bunch of walls. The chimney is in the center of the building. This would run against the chimney to the bottom unit and out the kitchen drain. The HVAC unit is next to the exterior wall so I would be fine running that outside if it’s legal. 

There’s 4 total HVAC. One per floor. The bottom 2 are in the basement next to the sump pump. The 3rd floor is the problem HVAC. The top floor is above a bed and runs  out another source. This one was installed 6 years ago and I just purchased it a year ago. The chimney is drywalled off from each unit so you wouldn’t even know it existed in any unit so not sure if I could gain access to the ash pump door or if it’s even there. I’ve only opened up 2 portions of the basement drywall and doesn’t seem like there is one. 

After some searching, I determined where my water issue was coming from in my ground unit in my 1890s, gut rehabbed 3 flat. In my 95% high efficiency HVAC system the PVC pipe connected to a copper pipe in my abandoned chimney on the 2nd floor was corroded where they met which leaked outside of the chimney causing damage to my carpet in the ground unit beyond the drywall. The chimney is not exposed in any unit and has been drywalled off. I had a plumber repair the pipe and he said the pipe should not be in the chimney at all.  I haven't been able to determine if the pipe leaves the chimney and exits properly to a drain or just drips to the bottom and dissipates. I used an endoscope and know it goes down at least 15 ft to the 1st floor and seems like it goes lower. Is it ok if the pipe doesn't leave the chimney at all and eventually dries out? Should this condensation line be moved? I've had a large range of opinions between chimney people, a plumber , and a home inspector. There's an odd drop ceiling in the ground unit and think a pipe could run along the area, but don't want to keep cutting holes in the drywall to see if it's not necessary. There's not a convenient location from the HVAC to move the line and the plumber quoted me at 3K to move the pipe and knock down a lot of walls to do it. 

Separately, since the chimney is abandoned, it was recommended I remove the chimney below the roof line. Since this is true other than this pipe, would it be ok to do this if the water really is just dissipating at the bottom of the chimney? I'd appreciate any advice. I just wish I had consistency among the contractors to know if it's ok if this pipe is running down the chimney or not. 

I wanted to give an update and wish I had this resolved. Still looking for additional help and hope the additional photos provide more information as I'm not the most informed on roof/chimney issues. I'm lucky a friend of a friend has a good drone and got these shots. 

My home inspector came over and noticed that there's moisture in the walls next to the chimney in the bottom unit and the middle unit, but not the top unit. He felt it's coming from a mix of the poor flashing and chimney top (although he never saw photos of the top and just sent them to him now). Also there is a furnace directly above the 2nd unit near the chimney, but I did not see any water anywhere in the furnace room. 

Currently I have 1 quote to add a concrete crown and cap for 1K. Another quote to demolish and rebuild the chimney for 3.2K. I have 2 more chimney guys coming this week. They basically say what they will do, but give no reassurance of what actually needs to be done to prevent the issue without costing more than what I actually need done. I also have a HVAC guy coming Friday to determine if anything is using this chimney and will just remove it, if possible. From these photos, what seems like the best option?

Also it would be helpful to know if I can have any recourse on the licensed, bonded, insured roofer to get money back to fix their issue. It's clear this type of chimney work isn't their specialty. I'd appreciate any advice!

@Theresa Harris

I think the home inspector may use one if the issue doesn’t seem to come from the ground. If not, a buddy had a nice one and can try that next week. 

@Joe Splitrock

I’m not sure what it looks like. I wanted the roofers to get a picture but didn’t get it. It’s way to high for me to get up there myself. They mentioned I could get a chimney cap for 1k. Given the damage is straight down and not the top unit, this is a possibility. But the odd part is, it has not rained for over 3 days and it continues to get worse in my unit so now I’m thinking it could be coming from the ground. There’s still condensation on the chimney near the bottom though. A tuck pointer recommended doing an infra red scan for moisture detected. I called my home inspector and he’s coming out next Tuesday to do it for free and hopefully know more then.

@Don Meinke

I don’t believe anything is using the chimney but will have the home inspector confirm that. I have high efficiency furnaces and electric Water heaters I think. 

If damage is coming from the roof somehow, I think I’m going your route. It’s 3k to remove it from the top to seal it off Vs. 1k for the cap alone plus tuckpointing and I’m going to own this for at minimum 10 years and probably a lot longer. The less headaches the better.

I definitely won’t repair anything until I’m sure it’s fixed. No way I’m going through the hassle of new flooring and then have it damaged again.  

I have an odd scenario and hope to have a few different pieces of advice and the direction I should take. Two weeks ago water was getting into the ground unit of my 3 flat and I happen to live in this unit. It was under the carpet in a small hallway bridging the carpet and the tile attached next to it in the kitchen area from the living room. I ripped off that portion of the carpet to confirm it's a concrete slab underneath and no foundation cracks around there. The majority of it was in the middle of the carpet but the carpet was somewhat wet along one wall. I opened up the wall and an old chimney is there that is sealed. There's no water dripping from above so I believe all of it is inside the chimney and there's condensation on the outside of the chimney now up to about 2 ft up. There's none above that. I looked at the two units above and saw no issues anywhere on the drywall that's up against the chimney as it's not exposed on the top unit at all and the middle unit shows one side decoratively and looked fine.

Next step was to check the chimney. I replaced the roof last year as the inspector informed me the roof was on its last leg. I've attached a picture of the chimney flashing, which this roofer only used tar. He's licensed, bonded, and insured and had a lot of positive reviews and came from a referral. I contacted him after the water damage and his crew came out and installed metal flashing outside of the tar area at no charge. After looking into chimney flashing I'm not sure if this is appropriate and now I know that tar originally is not acceptable and prone to leaks. He claimed that if the issue was from the flashing the issue would be at the top unit and affect the drywall. He said that water inside the chimney could not result from improper flashing. Is that always the case? I'm wondering if his installation possibly has caused the leak and if he should be responsible for my damages?

I have a few chimney repair people coming in the next 2 weeks to assess the damages and help determine the cause but was hoping for some initial opinions as it's taking a few days before anyone can come out. Appreciate the advice! 

The water damage area is extremely annoying as it's against the tile for the kitchen and carpet in the living room so I basically need to rip out the tile and carpet as I'm afraid there could be water under the tile. Would you agree that I need to rip out the tile to ensure there's no water based on that location? I'm debating about replacing it all with Lifeproof Luxury Vinyl in the off chance this occurs in the future as it'll be much easier to pull out a few boards and the vinyl would probably be a better look. Without formal estimates, I'm expecting around 4-5K to remove and replace for 600-700sq ft. This is in Chicago. Does this seem accurate? With a 2.5K deductible, it's not worth the call and hit on my insurance so this is an unexpected, annoying repair. I'm hoping the roofer would be liable and fall on him to cover the costs.

I closed on my first property a few weeks ago and have somewhat run into a snag and would like some advice how to handle the situation.  I now own a 3 flat in a good area in Chicago.  The main large unit is rented out by a youth organization and was informed that the organization paid the rent.  After closing I found out they only paid half and the 4 tenants split the remaining portion of rent.  This organization has been in the building for a few years now and have a great relationship with the building and previous owner.  The previous owner didn't handle the security deposit properly and now the tenants believe the amount is $200 less than what they paid.  They signed the estoppel statement, received money for consideration to release me from his error in handling the security deposit, and signed an security deposit receipt from me all stating the lower amount. Would you consider paying them just to keep the peace?  I'm considering splitting the difference.  The total lease is $3600.  They just inquired and haven't been demanding or anything.  

Also on a separate note, there can be turnover mid lease between people.  The organization takes care of finding new tenants and there's always a waitlist for a room.  What documentation would you have when they turnover?  The organization isn't on the lease despite paying half the rent and curious if I should be adding them when they renew the lease?  The organization does vet out the tenants so it shouldn't be likely I have issues with a potential new tenant.  From a security deposit standpoint, I was thinking the new tenant would pay the tenant moving out and there would be no transaction with me.  I'd appreciate all the advice!

I 100% agree with you.  I was talking about it with my agent and feel they need to supply the zoning cert when they list.  Because they didn't I spent nearly 2K between attorney, appraisal and inspection that wasn't necessary.  It's BS.  I feel the seller should compensate me for the mess, but I doubt that will happen.  

They countered at a price just 75k lower than the original price as a 3 flat. Oh well I guess. The price isn’t close to worth it. The seller claims to just duplex down the unit but I highly doubt he does that and continues to rent out the illegal unit.