DavidW

Hello everyone We had a DRU Global XT fire installed a couple of years ago. This involved installing a new chimney liner and cowl. I believe we have a balanced flue - pic attached. Last year we noticed some water stains on the back of the fire; its fitted with black reflective glass to reflect the flames when lit. We had thought this was down to condensation. When we first light the fire, the glass screen does go misty, it then clears with the heat. Its clear at all other times. Yesterday we noticed more water stains, as through water had run down the chimney and the back of the fire - we did have some torrential rain recently. The chimney has historically been re-pointed, reflashed (leaded) and reflanched when we had renovations done several years ago. Am I right in thinking we do have a balanced flue (this is not my area of expertise) and can the cowl be letting water in? It is a black metal cowl - see pic (the terracotta one it replaced that sat in the chimney pot is in the garden). Is this normal that they can leak, or do we need to seal it in some way? Not sure what else could be causing this - but open to any recommendations you have. Many thanks for any advice. David