tuck point a inside decaying chimney base

ezj001

My chimney is spalling at the bottom. It runs straight through the middle of the house which is three story's high not counting the basement. I have done brick work in the past for a living.The chimney has been rapped with parsing some time in the past by someone.It cracked and that is how i discovered it. It is mainly on one side,but the other side is not too bad.The bad side is spalling up to about thirty inches. I want to tuck point it,but am not sure how much i can take out at one time without it collapsing.The rest of the chimney is like in new condition.I am sure i need to use type n mortar.Please if any one out there can give me advice on this it would be greatly appreciated. Thank you in advance.I forgot to mention I looked inside the chimney and it looks like the inner wall is in good shape. Thanks again.

gregzoll

If it is getting as bad as you are stating, it may be better to rebuild, since once you start replacing the bad brick work, you tend to open a huge can of worms.

concretemasonry

ez -

Posting your location a little specifically would help, especially if the problem could be related to the climate and conditions.

How old it the chimney?

Tuck pointing materials must be compatible with existing materials and it is really cosmetic or for weather protection and not structural.

Dick