The chimney rebuild is finished! When the mason started the project, he estimated it would take two weeks, and he was spot-on. They disassembled the scaffolding yesterday, and they are cleaning up the site today. Rebuilding the chimney was expensive, but we are so excited that we are one step closer to using the fireplaces. A cozier-feeling winter is within our grasp.
Progress Photos
All of these photos were taken before they added the clay flue liners and poured the concrete cap.
It took me a few days to work up the nerve to ask the crew if I could climb up and take photos. I love heights. However, they were so concerned about my kids climbing the scaffolding during their off-hours that I was sure they would say no to my request. When they agreed, I grabbed my phone and scrambled up to the roof before they could change their minds.
In this photo, you can see the three separate flues. The inner chimney, which looks rough, is actually in very good shape. The outer chimney is the new brick, and the mason tied the old and new together with metal straps embedded in the mortar (not shown).
He installed all new metal flashing.
Here is a close-up of the bricks. I love the texture and varied colors. They also stepped out the top two rows by one inch to add visual interest.
I hope you are not afraid of heights.
For the first time, I got a good look at the flat portion of the roof, and it is so much smaller than I imagined! The chimney on the right serves the dining room, and it may also offer a clue to another BHH mystery–more on that later. (I’m terrible; I know!)
The chimney on the left was probably for a potbelly kitchen stove a long, long time ago. Now it vents our water heater. I talked to the mason about tearing it down next year. It has moved beyond spalling (the brick faces coming off) and into complete disrepair. All we truly need is a vent, and it would be cheaper to tear the chimney down at this point. It has outlived its usefulness.
The Finished Chimney
Sadly, it was pretty gloomy out when I took the after photos, but I’m thankful the weather was beautiful while the crew was working.
Here is a good look at the concrete cap, clay flue liners, and the metal flue caps too. I promise I did not photoshop the background out of the photo. I wasn’t kidding when I said the weather was gloomy.
This photo offers a good view of the step flashing and the clean roof.
The finished chimney is about eight feet tall on the longest side. It looks so good, and we are thrilled with the masons we hired.
There is something so satisfying about making an old house structurally sound and ready for another 140 years. Sure, we won’t admire our new chimney on a daily basis, but we know it is there protecting us and everyone else who will live here in the future.
Millie will miss the supplemental lunch the crew fed her every day, but I’ll be happy to get her back on her regular diet of dog food and the occasional treat. She has learned some bad begging habits, and she’s a little fluffier around the middle too.
As always, it’s time to move on to the next project, and guess what it is? Three words: One Room Challenge. I’ll tell you all about it next week.
In the meantime, I’m also wrapping up the front door restoration. You can follow along with that on Instagram. There will be a door update on the blog when it is finished.
8 Comments
SH
Now I see what you mean by one chimney with 3 separate flues. You say it is one step closer to a usable fireplace–what else needs to happen first? And with a house that large (so much roofing) and old, wouldn’t a drone be useful for checking on damages etc. ? Now that I’ve typed that, it seems this has been mentioned before. Maybe not.
Stacy
Indeed, pictures are worth a thousand words. 🙂 Before we can use the fireplaces, I need to clean and service all of the dampers. They are not-functioning 100%, and there is a bunch of leaves and debris behind them.
A drone could be a really good idea. When we got a new roof, the crew completely tore off the old roofs. There were three! Now, we can identify issues via the attic too.
Devyn
Woo Hoo! It’s not the most glamorous part of your house (albeit it is still pretty!), but I know this it is a big relief to have this checked off the list.
As for the other one… Taking chimneys. down isn’t super cheap to do, but you should only have to take it down to the attic and patch the roof leaving a vent for the water heater. We went through that when it was discovered an unused chimney was leaning and pulling away from the outside wall..
Stacy
I’ll be showing that chimney off to anyone who wants to see it. 🙂
Taking that old chimney down will be cheaper than rebuilding. We will have to employ a roofer too, though, so we’ll see how much it costs altogether.
Jeri
It looks really good! I’m curious about the non-used chimney; will you be able to save any of the brick to use elsewhere? And I also need a reminder about the windowed room below the restored chimney. What room is this and are you going to be restoring the windows them painting them? I know you have already mentioned this in a post but I just can’t remember the details.
Stacy
We do have a few bricks left, but not enough to do a substantial project. That windowed room is the old Model-T garage. 🙂 I use it as a summer workshop. I will be restoring the windows for sure.
Southern Gal
so gorgeous.. hard to spend that money i imagine but so worth it when you have those fireplaces burning!
Stacy
Yes, writing that check was hard, but it’s all for our comfort and the greater good of BHH.