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Brick chimney above roof is in bad shape. Should I rebuild or replace with class b vent?

jlonj
jlonj Member Posts: 23
in Strictly Steam
About to replace my roof with standing seam and realizing I should probably address my chimney. I had it inspected a few years back and one chimney guy said it needed repointing. The other said it needed to be rebuilt. I’m no expert, but the bricks look pretty bad ( I have the same bricks in the foundation and attic... they don’t look that bad).

Since the inspections, I switched to a gas boiler and the contractor installed an aluminum liner. I also power vented my water heater. So, the only thing venting through the chimney is the boiler. I have a gas fireplace that I’ve never used that I think is technically disconnected.

Would it make more sense to rebuild the chimney as-is with new bricks or to tear it down to the roof line
(Or maybe the attic) and put a b vent on it?

A couple other considerations: I may want to finish the attic eventually and that chimney takes up a ton of space. I also may want to install a fireplace insert, though it’s at the bottom of my priority list.

Comments

  • Robert_25
    Robert_25 Member Posts: 549
    If the rest of the chimney is sound, I would just rebuild it from the attic up. Sounds like you have an older home, and a brick chimney will look very nice with that new standing seam roof.

    luketheplumber
  • Zman
    Zman Member Posts: 7,610
    Picture?
    "If you can't explain it simply, you don't understand it well enough"
    Albert Einstein
  • jlonj
    jlonj Member Posts: 23
    edited December 2018
    here is a pic
  • STEVEusaPA
    STEVEusaPA Member Posts: 6,505
    A proper inspection with a camera on the inside of the chimney will tell you if it's sound.
    Obviously the top needs more than re-pointing.

    There was an error rendering this rich post.

  • Jamie Hall
    Jamie Hall Member Posts: 24,516
    The question isn't "does it need re-pointing", the question is, when is it going to collapse? Someone, sometime, did a really poor job of re-pointing... If it were mine to do, I'd take it down to the roof and probably a course or two inside the roof -- there will have been some water damage - and rebuild it and have it properly lined.
    Br. Jamie, osb
    Building superintendent/caretaker, 7200 sq. ft. historic house museum with dependencies in New England
  • jlonj
    jlonj Member Posts: 23
    edited December 2018
    Just to close out this thread if anyone ever comes back to read it.

    Quote for rebuild came in at only $... much less than I was worried about. I have a strong assumption that a mason will charge less than a chimney sweeper, so do some searching - masons are hard to find.
  • BobC
    BobC Member Posts: 5,495
    I find that getting a chimney repointed or even rebuilt from the roof up is cheaper when done through a roofer. In my case they sent a 70 year old guy and a young helper down and they rebuilt the chimney from the roof up in about 3 hours and the bill was very reasonable, the shingles and dumpster were dropped off that afternoon and the roof was done the next day.

    Bob
    Smith G8-3 with EZ Gas @ 90,000 BTU, Single pipe steam
    Vaporstat with a 12oz cut-out and 4oz cut-in
    3PSI gauge
  • jlonj
    jlonj Member Posts: 23
    @BobC I thought about that. Reached out to my roofer but haven't heard back. I was concerned that I would get to a spot where I needed the chimney fixed ASAP to continue the roof ,and be goaded into paying a higher price. Also, I just got the sense that roofers tend to repoint over rebuilding. My quote for repointing in the past was about as much as this rebuild...
  • mikeg2015
    mikeg2015 Member Posts: 1,194
    Tuckpointing just a chimney isn’t that expensive. Not really that hard of a DIY job, but need a few special tools and getting the mortar mix right.

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