chimney rebuid do it yourself or not?

hd8617 · 02-19-2009, 07:11 PM

I have a 1948 cape and the top 15 layers of the chimney are deteroating. I have got a couple of estimates to repair it both were around $5000 (they also said I needed to reline it as well) I think that this is to expensive plus I can't afford it. I want to know if this is a project I can take on myself. There are two flues one for a oil furnace and one for a fireplace. If this is something I can do myself what is the best way to go about it and how? Any info will be greatly appreciated.

Scuba_Dave · 02-19-2009, 07:41 PM

Depends upon if it needs to be relined
I took the chimney down to below roof level at my old house
Below the roof it was fine
I then rebuilt it & added flashing

How much needs to be rebuilt?

hd8617 · 02-19-2009, 09:59 PM

About to the roof line needs to be rebuilt. I just recently bought this house last august and when I had the house inspected I was told the liner was good. But that was by looking up the flue from the fire box with a flashlight. Is rebuilding a chimney hard to do?

Scuba_Dave · 02-19-2009, 10:16 PM

To the roof line from the top of the chimney?
Depending upon the slope of the roof it can be easy
My old house was a 1 floor ranch, so I was only about 9' off the ground
I used the same bricks
I actually added some & made it slightly higher
It was a single vent for Gas heat only & had a liner

OldNBroken · 02-19-2009, 11:42 PM

Was wondering why this was in roofing but then noticed there is no mason's forum.
Some people can sit down, look at a project, figure it out and do an adequate job. Others couldn't tell you the business end of a hammer or screwdriver. Without knowing which category you fall under no one here can tell you "yeah, go for it".
The two things you should keep in mind are that it entails more than just slapping some bricks into some mud and, more importantly, there are serious safety consequences to consider if it is done wrong. Both during the project and with the completed project.

Since it's a cape cod, it is steep and going to require adequate staging, both up to the roof and on it. You also want to provide adequate protection for the roofing or you'll end up coming back here and asking us how to repair your damaged roof.

It's quite a task you are looking to tackle there. If you decide to do it, let us know how it turns out. We always get everyone asking questions and never returning to fill us in on the outcome. Makes us sad

gante · 02-22-2009, 10:10 PM

OldNBroken is right! I would not recomend taking a project of this magnitude on your own. There is a lot of other safety factors that need to be taken into account. I have exactly the same problem in a house that I am about to buy. This house is from the 1948 and I have a leak somewhere by the chimney. We do not get a lot of water in southern California but fortunetly we had rain before the inspection. I would be interested to find out what the outcome of your project will be since I might have to do the same with mine.