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Posted: 10/22/2013 1:18:36 PM EDT
Just a glimpse into the messes I tend to get myself into.
This brick chimney is being used to vent a fuel oil boiler and it is well past it's prime. It probably could have been prevented years ago with a regular inspection and repair, but now the whole thing has to come down. It was just about ready to collapse right onto the roof, I was able to take it apart just by picking up the bricks, practically no mortar bond left and just gravity holding it together. 
45 buckets lowered down 4 sections of roof jacks and then 5 sections of scaffold. Can't wait to hoist the new stuff back up tomorrow. 
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Posted: 10/22/2013 1:54:10 PM EDT
[#1]
Glad you caught that in time.
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Posted: 10/22/2013 2:10:52 PM EDT
[#2]
Mine would have been on that road as well, but luckily I caught it before it failed. Some mortar damage, but still sound. I did wind up casting in place a new concrete crown with proper drip edge. On a 4x4 foot square chimney (don't ask, house built in the 50's, was a design element) that was a pita.
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Posted: 10/22/2013 2:17:08 PM EDT
[#3]
Are you going to recommend they bring in a roofer to properly flash that chimney?
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Posted: 10/22/2013 2:20:14 PM EDT
[#4]
That looks eerily like a lightning strike. Was the chimney cap messed up at all?
Also, those are T-lock shingles. Don't mess one up... They don't make them anymore.
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Posted: 10/22/2013 2:37:42 PM EDT
[#5]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
Are you going to recommend they bring in a roofer to properly flash that chimney? He is coming in behind me to reshingle the whole house and put new flashing on the chimney. |
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Posted: 10/22/2013 3:11:05 PM EDT
[#6]
No liner in the flue either? How long has it been around?
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Posted: 10/22/2013 3:13:27 PM EDT
[#7]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
Are you going to recommend they bring in a roofer to properly flash that chimney? Nothing 54 tubes of black-jack can't handle! |
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Posted: 10/22/2013 3:16:11 PM EDT
[#8]
Bricks started falling off my office (I rent , thank God) this spring, there have been two guys there remortaring for about six weeks, I shudder at the cost
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Posted: 10/22/2013 3:21:05 PM EDT
[#9]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
That looks eerily like a lightning strike. Was the chimney cap messed up at all? Also, those are T-lock shingles. Don't mess one up... They don't make them anymore. We had a strike 2 years ago, looked like an rpg hit it. Seriously, shrapnel went thru the ridge cap and landed over a hundred feet away. OP's looks like weathering of the mortar. |
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Posted: 10/22/2013 3:24:18 PM EDT
[#10]
I'm going up on moms roof w/ a mason next weekend . There has been a leak from damaged flashing that requires a mason to replace .
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Posted: 10/22/2013 3:34:22 PM EDT
[#11]
We used to have a member here named “sweep” (or something similar). A chimney guy.
He was also a moderator if I remember correctly. I wonder if he is still around since he might be a good resource for this thread. Mike Posted Via AR15.Com Mobile |
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Posted: 10/22/2013 3:49:54 PM EDT
[#12]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
I'm going up on moms roof w/ a mason next weekend . There has been a leak from damaged flashing that requires a mason to replace . Did you have a roofer up there yet? I can flash in chimneys, but whenever possible I leave it to a roofer since they do a lot more of it so they can typically do it faster and cheaper. |
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Posted: 10/22/2013 3:53:25 PM EDT
[#13]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
We had a strike 2 years ago, looked like an rpg hit it. Seriously, shrapnel went thru the ridge cap and landed over a hundred feet away. OP's looks like weathering of the mortar. Quote HistoryQuoted:
Quoted:
That looks eerily like a lightning strike. Was the chimney cap messed up at all? Also, those are T-lock shingles. Don't mess one up... They don't make them anymore. We had a strike 2 years ago, looked like an rpg hit it. Seriously, shrapnel went thru the ridge cap and landed over a hundred feet away. OP's looks like weathering of the mortar. Yup. It is just weathered. About a quarter of it was re-laid in the last 20 years, poorly. The rest has been ground and and grouted back in a few times, but half the brick on the backside was just deteriorated and crumbling. As far as age the house is from the 1800's, so the chimney may be original down to the basement. The really scary part, all around here there are brick chimneys in old houses that look worse than that, and people have the balls to burn wood with them. Crazy, most of the old ones don't have liners either. |
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Posted: 10/22/2013 3:53:54 PM EDT
[#14]
OP, next spring do yourself a huge favor...
Look up CrownCoat and Chimney Saver. Apply. Enjoy years of happiness. And for the love of everything holy, tell me there is a liner in that chimney, or their will be. 
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Posted: 10/22/2013 4:02:06 PM EDT
[#15]
Quote HistoryQuoted: Bricks started falling off my office (I rent , thank God) this spring, there have been two guys there remortaring for about six weeks, I shudder at the cost Damn....Do they look like this guy?  |
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Posted: 10/22/2013 4:05:14 PM EDT
[#16]
Quote HistoryQuoted: Yup. It is just weathered. About a quarter of it was re-laid in the last 20 years, poorly. The rest has been ground and and grouted back in a few times, but half the brick on the backside was just deteriorated and crumbling. As far as age the house is from the 1800's, so the chimney may be original down to the basement. The really scary part, all around here there are brick chimneys in old houses that look worse than that, and people have the balls to burn wood with them. Crazy, most of the old ones don't have liners either. Quote HistoryQuoted: Quoted: Quoted: That looks eerily like a lightning strike. Was the chimney cap messed up at all? Also, those are T-lock shingles. Don't mess one up... They don't make them anymore. We had a strike 2 years ago, looked like an rpg hit it. Seriously, shrapnel went thru the ridge cap and landed over a hundred feet away. OP's looks like weathering of the mortar. Yup. It is just weathered. About a quarter of it was re-laid in the last 20 years, poorly. The rest has been ground and and grouted back in a few times, but half the brick on the backside was just deteriorated and crumbling. As far as age the house is from the 1800's, so the chimney may be original down to the basement. The really scary part, all around here there are brick chimneys in old houses that look worse than that, and people have the balls to burn wood with them. Crazy, most of the old ones don't have liners either. The only thing that struck me as odd is multiple bricks are cracked straight through. I've seen lightning hits that look like a fat man sat on it, all the way to apparent RPGs.
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Posted: 10/22/2013 4:14:26 PM EDT
[#17]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
OP, next spring do yourself a huge favor... Look up CrownCoat and Chimney Saver. Apply. Enjoy years of happiness. And for the love of everything holy, tell me there is a liner in that chimney, or their will be. Blech, bandaids. The liner isn't my gig. A separate company will need to come in and put in a stainless liner, if they want one. |
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Posted: 10/22/2013 4:14:54 PM EDT
[#18]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
Yup. It is just weathered. About a quarter of it was re-laid in the last 20 years, poorly. The rest has been ground and and grouted back in a few times, but half the brick on the backside was just deteriorated and crumbling. As far as age the house is from the 1800's, so the chimney may be original down to the basement. The really scary part, all around here there are brick chimneys in old houses that look worse than that, and people have the balls to burn wood with them. Crazy, most of the old ones don't have liners either. Quote HistoryQuoted:
Quoted:
Quoted:
That looks eerily like a lightning strike. Was the chimney cap messed up at all? Also, those are T-lock shingles. Don't mess one up... They don't make them anymore. We had a strike 2 years ago, looked like an rpg hit it. Seriously, shrapnel went thru the ridge cap and landed over a hundred feet away. OP's looks like weathering of the mortar. Yup. It is just weathered. About a quarter of it was re-laid in the last 20 years, poorly. The rest has been ground and and grouted back in a few times, but half the brick on the backside was just deteriorated and crumbling. As far as age the house is from the 1800's, so the chimney may be original down to the basement. The really scary part, all around here there are brick chimneys in old houses that look worse than that, and people have the balls to burn wood with them. Crazy, most of the old ones don't have liners either. I am amazed at the risks I see people take. They don't give a shit. Just like cars, most people wait until it is a huge problem they can't possibly avoid before doing anything. Then, when they have no choice, they seek the cheapest, duct-tape and bondo solution possible. I'm glad I'm no longer a sweep. I loved the work, but I hated hearing how I was wrong and cousin Jeb was right. Cousin Jeb was only right because his idea was easy and free. It's funny, too. If I had a dime for every supposed "prepper" with the shittiest cobbled-ass ragfuck wood heating setup ever, I'd be rich. I thought preppers were about long-term sustainability. 
People don't fix a roof till the drywall is on their head. People don't change tires until they hydroplane into a ravine. Brakes? They still stop. Turn up the radio. Same for bearings and CV joints. Decks? Why waterproof them. Furnace? I got a free CO detector from the fire department. Healthcare? .gov bro! Sorry. /rant This is the time of year everyone decides to risk everything by ignoring and avoiding a simple solution. They tend to post here about how dramatic their lives are. Go figure.
Thanks for the PSA, OP. The world needs all it can get. |
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Posted: 10/22/2013 4:15:29 PM EDT
[#19]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
Damn....Do they look like this guy? http://gigabiting.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/milkman1.jpg Quote HistoryQuoted:
Quoted:
Bricks started falling off my office (I rent , thank God) this spring, there have been two guys there remortaring for about six weeks, I shudder at the cost Damn....Do they look like this guy? http://gigabiting.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/milkman1.jpg A running joke we had forever was wearing Byrne Dairy hats on tedious jobs. |
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Posted: 10/22/2013 4:15:59 PM EDT
[#20]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
Blech, bandaids. The liner isn't my gig. A separate company will need to come in and put in a stainless liner, if they want one. Quote HistoryQuoted:
Quoted:
OP, next spring do yourself a huge favor... Look up CrownCoat and Chimney Saver. Apply. Enjoy years of happiness. And for the love of everything holy, tell me there is a liner in that chimney, or their will be. Blech, bandaids. The liner isn't my gig. A separate company will need to come in and put in a stainless liner, if they want one. bandaids? LOLWUT? Water is the reason you are seeing that damage! Proper waterproofing after rebuild will extend the life of the chimney significantly. |
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Posted: 10/22/2013 4:18:51 PM EDT
[#21]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
I am amazed at the risks I see people take. They don't give a shit. Just like cars, most people wait until it is a huge problem they can't possibly avoid before doing anything. Then, when they have no choice, they seek the cheapest, duct-tape and bondo solution possible. I'm glad I'm no longer a sweep. I loved the work, but I hated hearing how I was wrong and cousin Jeb was right. Cousin Jeb was only right because his idea was easy and free. It's funny, too. If I had a dime for every supposed "prepper" with the shittiest cobbled-ass ragfuck wood heating setup ever, I'd be rich. I thought preppers were about long-term sustainability.
People don't fix a roof till the drywall is on their head. People don't change tires until they hydroplane into a ravine. Brakes? They still stop. Turn up the radio. Same for bearings and CV joints. Decks? Why waterproof them. Furnace? I got a free CO detector from the fire department. Healthcare? .gov bro! Sorry. /rant This is the time of year everyone decides to risk everything by ignoring and avoiding a simple solution. They tend to post here about how dramatic their lives are. Go figure.
Thanks for the PSA, OP. The world needs all it can get. Quote HistoryQuoted:
Quoted:
Quoted:
Quoted:
That looks eerily like a lightning strike. Was the chimney cap messed up at all? Also, those are T-lock shingles. Don't mess one up... They don't make them anymore. We had a strike 2 years ago, looked like an rpg hit it. Seriously, shrapnel went thru the ridge cap and landed over a hundred feet away. OP's looks like weathering of the mortar. Yup. It is just weathered. About a quarter of it was re-laid in the last 20 years, poorly. The rest has been ground and and grouted back in a few times, but half the brick on the backside was just deteriorated and crumbling. As far as age the house is from the 1800's, so the chimney may be original down to the basement. The really scary part, all around here there are brick chimneys in old houses that look worse than that, and people have the balls to burn wood with them. Crazy, most of the old ones don't have liners either. I am amazed at the risks I see people take. They don't give a shit. Just like cars, most people wait until it is a huge problem they can't possibly avoid before doing anything. Then, when they have no choice, they seek the cheapest, duct-tape and bondo solution possible. I'm glad I'm no longer a sweep. I loved the work, but I hated hearing how I was wrong and cousin Jeb was right. Cousin Jeb was only right because his idea was easy and free. It's funny, too. If I had a dime for every supposed "prepper" with the shittiest cobbled-ass ragfuck wood heating setup ever, I'd be rich. I thought preppers were about long-term sustainability.
People don't fix a roof till the drywall is on their head. People don't change tires until they hydroplane into a ravine. Brakes? They still stop. Turn up the radio. Same for bearings and CV joints. Decks? Why waterproof them. Furnace? I got a free CO detector from the fire department. Healthcare? .gov bro! Sorry. /rant This is the time of year everyone decides to risk everything by ignoring and avoiding a simple solution. They tend to post here about how dramatic their lives are. Go figure.
Thanks for the PSA, OP. The world needs all it can get. This time of year sucks. It could snow any day and I get calls from people saying "I need to fire up the furnace/woodstove this week and we need 10 ft of chimney replaced....can you get here by the end of the week?" Sure, I will put you in front of the 5 others that called this month, they will appreciate that. I never get chimney calls in the summer, at least not for repairs. |
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Posted: 10/22/2013 4:19:30 PM EDT
[#22]
Is that lead flashing I see
That would make some nice bullets 
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Posted: 10/22/2013 4:19:45 PM EDT
[#23]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
bandaids? LOLWUT? Water is the reason you are seeing that damage! Proper waterproofing after rebuild will extend the life of the chimney significantly. Quote HistoryQuoted:
Quoted:
Quoted:
OP, next spring do yourself a huge favor... Look up CrownCoat and Chimney Saver. Apply. Enjoy years of happiness. And for the love of everything holy, tell me there is a liner in that chimney, or their will be. Blech, bandaids. The liner isn't my gig. A separate company will need to come in and put in a stainless liner, if they want one. bandaids? LOLWUT? Water is the reason you are seeing that damage! Proper waterproofing after rebuild will extend the life of the chimney significantly. Doesn't crowncoat go over a crown to seal cracks and spalling? I would rather just pour a new crown. |
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Posted: 10/22/2013 4:20:20 PM EDT
[#24]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
Is that lead flashing I see
That would make some nice bullets Tin......I checked
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Posted: 10/22/2013 4:24:43 PM EDT
[#25]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
Doesn't crowncoat go over a crown to seal cracks and spalling? I would rather just pour a new crown. Quote HistoryQuoted:
Quoted:
Quoted:
Quoted:
OP, next spring do yourself a huge favor... Look up CrownCoat and Chimney Saver. Apply. Enjoy years of happiness. And for the love of everything holy, tell me there is a liner in that chimney, or their will be. Blech, bandaids. The liner isn't my gig. A separate company will need to come in and put in a stainless liner, if they want one. bandaids? LOLWUT? Water is the reason you are seeing that damage! Proper waterproofing after rebuild will extend the life of the chimney significantly. Doesn't crowncoat go over a crown to seal cracks and spalling? I would rather just pour a new crown. It will seal the cracks, but it is great over a new crown because it prevents water penetration and erosion. It is flexible enough that a crack forming underneath won't take moisture. I pour a concrete crown with forms that include a drip edge, too. It significantly reduces the amount of water running over the brick surface. Trust me, a concrete crown with drip edge coated in crown coat and a freshly built chimney sealed with chimney saver will out last any other contraption by decades. |
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Posted: 10/22/2013 4:26:57 PM EDT
[#26]
This one isn't getting a crown by me.
The liner company will have to bend a metal one. |
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Posted: 10/22/2013 4:28:35 PM EDT
[#27]
Ah. I take it these people want it fixed cheap as possible, bare minimum?
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Posted: 10/22/2013 4:30:58 PM EDT
[#28]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
Ah. I take it these people want it fixed cheap as possible, bare minimum? They just wanted a direct replacement. I am going to corbel the top out though to give it a better look. Regardless, that sucker was just about ready to tip over. The roofer actually told them to call a mason, they saw the roof was shot and when he was up there checking it out said the chimney was about ready to take a crap. |
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Posted: 10/22/2013 4:31:01 PM EDT
[#29]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
Bricks started falling off my office (I rent , thank God) this spring, there have been two guys there remortaring for about six weeks, I shudder at the cost   That's gotta be painful!
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Posted: 10/22/2013 4:31:50 PM EDT
[#30]
I had my chimney relined 3 years ago and repointed it last year. Better safe than sorry.
Whereabouts in NY OP? Also, what is the approximate cost for this type of job, just out of curiosity? |
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Posted: 10/22/2013 4:32:36 PM EDT
[#31]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
I had my chimney relined 3 years ago and repointed it last year. Better safe than sorry. Whereabouts in NY OP? Cortland County |
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Posted: 10/22/2013 4:34:38 PM EDT
[#32]
Also, get it cleaned if you burn solid fuels....
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Posted: 10/22/2013 4:35:53 PM EDT
[#33]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
The only thing that struck me as odd is multiple bricks are cracked straight through. I've seen lightning hits that look like a fat man sat on it, all the way to apparent RPGs.
Cracked bricks can actually be caused by using mortar that is too strong. Bricks usually require a Type N mortar which has a lower compressive strength than Type S. The idea is that if there is a failure of any kind the mortar joints will be cracked instead of the brick and you can grind out any problems and repoint them. Notice there is almost no mortar at the bottom from weathering, that likely made it begin to drop, and the rebuilt stuff near the top was held togther with a tougher Type S and it just snapped causing some of the bricks to crack. |
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Posted: 10/22/2013 4:40:58 PM EDT
[#34]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
Also, get it cleaned if you burn solid fuels.... http://mavenrestoration.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/chimney-fire-prevention.jpg Meh. That costs money. The fire department is free. |
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Posted: 10/22/2013 4:41:53 PM EDT
[#35]
Huh, can this be a problem if the chimney is never used? I think around here they are just for decoration. . .
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Posted: 10/22/2013 4:45:03 PM EDT
[#36]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
Did you have a roofer up there yet? I can flash in chimneys, but whenever possible I leave it to a roofer since they do a lot more of it so they can typically do it faster and cheaper. Quote HistoryQuoted:
Quoted:
I'm going up on moms roof w/ a mason next weekend . There has been a leak from damaged flashing that requires a mason to replace . Did you have a roofer up there yet? I can flash in chimneys, but whenever possible I leave it to a roofer since they do a lot more of it so they can typically do it faster and cheaper. I myself can pass as a proficient carpenter to cut the shingle back in . The joints in the veneer that hold the flashing have broken apart and are falling out . They now leak , it needs more than another coat of silicon calk to be done correctly . . . yes ? |
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Posted: 10/22/2013 4:46:09 PM EDT
[#37]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
Huh, can this be a problem if the chimney is never used? I think around here they are just for decoration. . . Most of that damage was from weather, the inside looked just fine even though there is a boiler venting into it. This is a pretty extreme case though, years without any repair, and the repair before it was just slapped together. |
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Posted: 10/22/2013 4:48:46 PM EDT
[#38]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
I myself can pass as a proficient carpenter to cut the shingle back in . The joints in the veneer that hold the flashing have broken apart and are falling out . They now leak , it needs more than another coat of silicon calk to be done correctly . . . yes ? Quote HistoryQuoted:
Quoted:
Quoted:
I'm going up on moms roof w/ a mason next weekend . There has been a leak from damaged flashing that requires a mason to replace . Did you have a roofer up there yet? I can flash in chimneys, but whenever possible I leave it to a roofer since they do a lot more of it so they can typically do it faster and cheaper. I myself can pass as a proficient carpenter to cut the shingle back in . The joints in the veneer that hold the flashing have broken apart and are falling out . They now leak , it needs more than another coat of silicon calk to be done correctly . . . yes ? You can grind out the morart joints a bit and caulk the step flashing back in, then counter flash over it with wall flashing, which is put up parallel to the roof. |
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Posted: 10/22/2013 4:48:58 PM EDT
[#39]
Quote HistoryQuoted: Cracked bricks can actually be caused by using mortar that is too strong. Bricks usually require a Type N mortar which has a lower compressive strength than Type S. The idea is that if there is a failure of any kind the mortar joints will be cracked instead of the brick and you can grind out any problems and repoint them. Notice there is almost no mortar at the bottom from weathering, that likely made it begin to drop, and the rebuilt stuff near the top was held togther with a tougher Type S and it just snapped causing some of the bricks to crack. Quote HistoryQuoted: Quoted: The only thing that struck me as odd is multiple bricks are cracked straight through. I've seen lightning hits that look like a fat man sat on it, all the way to apparent RPGs. Cracked bricks can actually be caused by using mortar that is too strong. Bricks usually require a Type N mortar which has a lower compressive strength than Type S. The idea is that if there is a failure of any kind the mortar joints will be cracked instead of the brick and you can grind out any problems and repoint them. Notice there is almost no mortar at the bottom from weathering, that likely made it begin to drop, and the rebuilt stuff near the top was held togther with a tougher Type S and it just snapped causing some of the bricks to crack. I'm calling you next time I have to deal with someone's busted ass chimney.
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Posted: 10/22/2013 4:53:32 PM EDT
[#40]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
Meh. That costs money. The fire department is free. Quote HistoryQuoted:
Quoted:
Also, get it cleaned if you burn solid fuels.... http://mavenrestoration.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/chimney-fire-prevention.jpg Meh. That costs money. The fire department is free. So are the clothes from the Red Cross . 
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Posted: 10/22/2013 4:57:43 PM EDT
[#41]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
So are the clothes from the Red Cross . Quote HistoryQuoted:
Quoted:
Quoted:
Also, get it cleaned if you burn solid fuels.... http://mavenrestoration.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/chimney-fire-prevention.jpg Meh. That costs money. The fire department is free. So are the clothes from the Red Cross . Small chimney fires (very small) are actually a healthy part of the lifecycle of your liner. Each day you should run your wood stove at full throttle for 15-30 minutes, it can cause small build ups to flame up for a few minutes and quickly burn off, then when you go to sweep the stuff that is left just flakes right off. What is really scary is when people damper their stoves right down for weeks a time and a thick glaze of creosote builds up. That stuff is miserable to sweep out and can cause pure havoc if it lights up. |
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Posted: 10/22/2013 4:58:24 PM EDT
[#42]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
Yup. It is just weathered. About a quarter of it was re-laid in the last 20 years, poorly. The rest has been ground and and grouted back in a few times, but half the brick on the backside was just deteriorated and crumbling. As far as age the house is from the 1800's, so the chimney may be original down to the basement. The really scary part, all around here there are brick chimneys in old houses that look worse than that, and people have the balls to burn wood with them. Crazy, most of the old ones don't have liners either. Quote HistoryQuoted:
Quoted:
Quoted:
That looks eerily like a lightning strike. Was the chimney cap messed up at all? Also, those are T-lock shingles. Don't mess one up... They don't make them anymore. We had a strike 2 years ago, looked like an rpg hit it. Seriously, shrapnel went thru the ridge cap and landed over a hundred feet away. OP's looks like weathering of the mortar. Yup. It is just weathered. About a quarter of it was re-laid in the last 20 years, poorly. The rest has been ground and and grouted back in a few times, but half the brick on the backside was just deteriorated and crumbling. As far as age the house is from the 1800's, so the chimney may be original down to the basement. The really scary part, all around here there are brick chimneys in old houses that look worse than that, and people have the balls to burn wood with them. Crazy, most of the old ones don't have liners either. Worse. One I toured before buying a different house here was about that age, and it had a central chimney fed by six fireplaces. The old kitchen hearth had a massive old cast iron stove in it with the pipe ending about two feet inside the flue.  None of the other fireplaces had dampers. The whole thing was unlined. There were visible creosote leaks in the attic.
This one? Two chimneys from basement to roof, four flues, all lined. One that was not in use was capped in the finished part of the basement. I opened the lower cover on a windy day and it was like opening a vacuum cleaner, a sudden "WOOSH" of air. "GOOD DRAW!"
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Posted: 10/22/2013 5:08:50 PM EDT
[#43]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
Worse. One I toured before buying a different house here was about that age, and it had a central chimney fed by six fireplaces. The old kitchen hearth had a massive old cast iron stove in it with the pipe ending about two feet inside the flue. None of the other fireplaces had dampers. The whole thing was unlined. There were visible creosote leaks in the attic.
This one? Two chimneys from basement to roof, four flues, all lined. One that was not in use was capped in the finished part of the basement. I opened the lower cover on a windy day and it was like opening a vacuum cleaner, a sudden "WOOSH" of air. "GOOD DRAW!" Quote HistoryQuoted:
Quoted:
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That looks eerily like a lightning strike. Was the chimney cap messed up at all? Also, those are T-lock shingles. Don't mess one up... They don't make them anymore. We had a strike 2 years ago, looked like an rpg hit it. Seriously, shrapnel went thru the ridge cap and landed over a hundred feet away. OP's looks like weathering of the mortar. Yup. It is just weathered. About a quarter of it was re-laid in the last 20 years, poorly. The rest has been ground and and grouted back in a few times, but half the brick on the backside was just deteriorated and crumbling. As far as age the house is from the 1800's, so the chimney may be original down to the basement. The really scary part, all around here there are brick chimneys in old houses that look worse than that, and people have the balls to burn wood with them. Crazy, most of the old ones don't have liners either. Worse. One I toured before buying a different house here was about that age, and it had a central chimney fed by six fireplaces. The old kitchen hearth had a massive old cast iron stove in it with the pipe ending about two feet inside the flue. None of the other fireplaces had dampers. The whole thing was unlined. There were visible creosote leaks in the attic.
This one? Two chimneys from basement to roof, four flues, all lined. One that was not in use was capped in the finished part of the basement. I opened the lower cover on a windy day and it was like opening a vacuum cleaner, a sudden "WOOSH" of air. "GOOD DRAW!" I can beat that. I demo'd a house last year and each bedroom upstairs had a hardwood box built with shelves in it and sitting on top of those shelves there were unlined block chimneys. Each room at one point had it's own wood stove venting into an unsupported and unlined chimney. I have never seen so much creosote leakage as I saw on those rafters, when we first torn out the ceilings we thought the place had been on fire in the past, everything was jet black. |
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Posted: 10/22/2013 5:10:27 PM EDT
[#44]
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Small chimney fires (very small) are actually a healthy part of the lifecycle of your liner. Each day you should run your wood stove at full throttle for 15-30 minutes, it can cause small build ups to flame up for a few minutes and quickly burn off, then when you go to sweep the stuff that is left just flakes right off. What is really scary is when people damper their stoves right down for weeks a time and a thick glaze of creosote builds up. That stuff is miserable to sweep out and can cause pure havoc if it lights up. Quote HistoryQuoted:
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Also, get it cleaned if you burn solid fuels.... http://mavenrestoration.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/chimney-fire-prevention.jpg Meh. That costs money. The fire department is free. So are the clothes from the Red Cross . Small chimney fires (very small) are actually a healthy part of the lifecycle of your liner. Each day you should run your wood stove at full throttle for 15-30 minutes, it can cause small build ups to flame up for a few minutes and quickly burn off, then when you go to sweep the stuff that is left just flakes right off. What is really scary is when people damper their stoves right down for weeks a time and a thick glaze of creosote builds up. That stuff is miserable to sweep out and can cause pure havoc if it lights up. Yea . .you're talkin' about me . More the problem is the woodstove is mounted in front of the fireplace w/ the backvent plumbed up the flue through a steel plate . The chimney is well built w/ an intact ceramic liner , but the chimney has so much mass it's difficult to get the chimney itself up to temp w/out sweating us out of the house . |
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Posted: 10/22/2013 5:13:10 PM EDT
[#45]
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I can beat that. I demo'd a house last year and each bedroom upstairs had a hardwood box built with shelves in it and sitting on top of those shelves there were unlined block chimneys. Each room at one point had it's own wood stove venting into an unsupported and unlined chimney. I have never seen so much creosote leakage as I saw on those rafters, when we first torn out the ceilings we thought the place had been on fire in the past, everything was jet black. That sounds like one of those Victorian era "kill everyone" houses.  Did you find any poorly laid out coalgas lines, too?
I'll also add that this house's second floor wiring consisted of Romex jammed behind radiators and hacked into walls to plugs with no box, all of it supplied by a loose, dangling piece of Romex beside the front door. I don't know what they were thinking. |
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Posted: 10/22/2013 5:14:59 PM EDT
[#46]
I just had a sweep in yesterday before I fired anything up. House was built in 1944 and has a Kodiak insert in the basement fireplace and another chimney with 2 flies, one for a fireplace and one for an oil boiler.
Ho Lee Shit! The insert in the basement was an old direct connect but they shoved it into a Heatilator type fireplace. He gave me a number for an 8" as liner, and I asked about repairing the flashing as well. He says "What flashing? There's just some j channel from the siding shoved in there." Turns out the flashing repairs were already in the quote and he did some quick and dirty caulking as a bandaid until he could come back. The other chimney was the real winner. turns out there only *appears* to be 2 flues. Once the boiler flee makes it up from the basement it joins the fireplace flu where the smoke chamber should be and forms one gigantic chamber up to the crown. There is a stub of a Terra cotta liner sticking out where the boiler flue should have been. Beside it is a 9x13 Terra cotta liner installed on the wrong axis. It goes down through the smoke chamber and terminates right above the damper. Neither the sweep nor I can figure out wtf they were thinking. Posted Via AR15.Com Mobile |
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Posted: 10/22/2013 5:16:53 PM EDT
[#47]
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Yea . .you're talkin' about me . More the problem is the woodstove is mounted in front of the fireplace w/ the backvent plumbed up the flue through a steel plate . The chimney is well built w/ an intact ceramic liner , but the chimney has so much mass it's difficult to get the chimney itself up to temp w/out sweating us out of the house . Quote HistoryQuoted:
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Also, get it cleaned if you burn solid fuels.... http://mavenrestoration.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/chimney-fire-prevention.jpg Meh. That costs money. The fire department is free. So are the clothes from the Red Cross . Small chimney fires (very small) are actually a healthy part of the lifecycle of your liner. Each day you should run your wood stove at full throttle for 15-30 minutes, it can cause small build ups to flame up for a few minutes and quickly burn off, then when you go to sweep the stuff that is left just flakes right off. What is really scary is when people damper their stoves right down for weeks a time and a thick glaze of creosote builds up. That stuff is miserable to sweep out and can cause pure havoc if it lights up. Yea . .you're talkin' about me . More the problem is the woodstove is mounted in front of the fireplace w/ the backvent plumbed up the flue through a steel plate . The chimney is well built w/ an intact ceramic liner , but the chimney has so much mass it's difficult to get the chimney itself up to temp w/out sweating us out of the house . This problem will be 100% resolved by installing a properly sized and insulated stainless liner. Burn dry wood and voila! |
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Posted: 10/22/2013 5:18:51 PM EDT
[#48]
My chimney partially collapsed in the storm that caused all the flooding here in Colorado.
It is a 123 year old house/chimney, and it had never been maintained. I had it restored, and now both sections are lined, one with steel for the fireplace and one with aluminum for the water heater and boiler. Should be good to go for a while now.
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Posted: 10/22/2013 5:19:25 PM EDT
[#49]
If we are going to talk crazy people in this thread, I saw a genius run single wall galvanized pipe through an open window into a huge piece of galvanized culvert pipe acting as the "flue". Nice trim work around the window pass through, though.
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Posted: 10/22/2013 5:21:58 PM EDT
[#50]
Mine is still loose from our last big earthquake.
I fully expect it to fall over when we get our next big one. |
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