Below are images of my chimney. I'm guessing this is the original stonework when the previous owner had the house built 33 yrs ago. I am seeing some cracks starting to form where the condensation runs down the chimney in the dead of winter. I noticed this last winter there was a decent amount of ice built up on the backside of the chimney. The Wood stove is a 1980:s blaze King. Should I just get some type of topcoat mortar to fill in the cracks to keep the water/freezing cycling from going farther into the stone work?
![PXL_20211030_193503466.jpg PXL_20211030_193503466.jpg](https://www.hearth.com/talk/data/attachments/284/284846-c6555623eecf279dc9a09a1eb9b94fdb.jpg)
![PXL_20211030_193503466.jpg PXL_20211030_193503466.jpg](https://www.hearth.com/talk/data/attachments/284/284846-c6555623eecf279dc9a09a1eb9b94fdb.jpg)