Tuck point or rebuild chimney?

jane99

The 84-year-old chimney on my 130-year-old house was damaged when a large tree struck it. It now has a diagonal crack all the way across the front of the chimney. In the following two weeks, the crack has widened, leaving large gaps between the mortor and bricks. Additionally, bricks below the crack have now settled, so that they are not in line with adjacent bricks. It appears that the upper half of the chimney juts out or, rather, that the bottom half has been pushed back. The insurance adjuster is falsely claiming that the crack was there prior to the tree falling (not so!), because he supposedly spotted a spider web in one of the gaps. (Apparently, he is unaware that a spider can build a web in one night.) Consequently, the adjuster is only willing to pay for tuck pointing, despite that a contractor has determined that the chimney needs to be rebuilt. Although my untrained eye cannot detect it, the contractor has also stated that the chimney has pulled away from the house. My question is this--will tuck pointing be sufficient or will I have huge problems down the road? Thank you!

Just Bill

If it is leaning out of plumb, and is cracked, I doubt that pointing is enough. The tile liner is cracked, if it has one, and that needs to be fixed. No easy way to make this right, except rebuild.

Insurance companies can be real a**holes. If the tree fell on it, and they cover that, then they should cover the chimney repair. I have never heard them refuse the premium.

itsreallyconc

bill's right - you've got structural damage tuckpointing won't fix,,, rebuild it !

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if you hear it from a guy in the apron store, be VERY suspicious the mtl/method will work,,, when it time to build something together, they won't answer phones NOR help
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