CHIMNEY MASONRY STACK FULL
CHIMNEY MASONRY STACK PROFESSIONAL

Project Considerations © DragonImages / Fotolia This not only equates to a long involvement on your part, but may significantly impact your budget when hiring help.

A brick chimney must be carefully disassembled one brick at a time to avoid structural damage. Whether you do the project yourself or hire a contractor, be warned that removing a chimney is time-consuming work, especially traditional brick ones. Simply having a chimney will not affect your ability to pursue a LEED certification rating. Sometimes sealing the flu or changing the type of fuel you use will remedy this problem without the need for a costly removal. This is almost invariably tied to emissions and heating issues. To a much smaller degree, a chimney which is still in use may also have some minor impact on your efforts to gain LEED certification on a home renovation. Pollution ordinances are more common in the UK than the US, but often revolve around the type of fuel being burnt, as well as the amount and quality of emissions being produced.

CHIMNEY MASONRY STACK FULL

Local pollution ordinances/LEED CertificationĪll of these are valid reasons, although some require additional considerations, such as whether a full removal will be necessary or if the removal will cost more than simply repairing or maintaining the chimney.

There are several reasons for wanting to remove the chimney, including:

CHIMNEY MASONRY STACK PROFESSIONAL

If you cannot afford a contractor to do the job, you may wish to hire a consultant for professional advice as needed. It is best to have several people working on the project at once, and having experts on-hand may significantly reduce the risk of complications. You should keep in mind at all times that chimney removal is a lengthy, difficult process which can potentially lead to serious structural concerns. In such cases, it may be better to seal the flu and replace the stack and cap with a purely decorative faux chimney. This is especially true of an older house in which chimneys are an aesthetic highlight, or you are in a neighborhood in which most homes have chimneys. However, there is also a long-term impact on the value of your home. When planning to remove a chimney, you may be looking primarily at cost estimates from contractors or planning to remove the chimney yourself to save money. In some cases, these may prove of value, either directly or historically, so always keep an eye out for anything unusual.

These include signed or dated bricks, trinkets collected by animals who took up residence in the flu, or other surprises. When tearing down chimneys, artifacts left over from the original builders may often be found. These include both short-term and long-term effects from the removal, as well as setting goals and informing neighbors of the project before beginning. There are a number of things to consider before planning out a chimney removal beyond the project itself. Leaks and structural damage are the most common reasons for wanting to remove a chimney stack, and in such cases, you will have the option of simply covering over the rest of an unused chimney when you extend the roof over the gap left by the stack. It is the portion which protrudes from the roof, ending in a cap. When people think of a chimney, this is the part they tend to picture. Note that removing any portion of a chimney breast will require structural reinforcements for that floor and the one above, as well as possible reinforcement of the outer wall. In the event you wish to reclaim this space in a room, it is possible to remove only that section of the breast instead of the entire chimney. Unfortunately, the breast has a habit of protruding into all the rooms it passes through. This brick wall encases the flu and other functional parts, providing extra insulation and major structural support. The chimney breast is both the most visible and vital portions of a chimney. Understanding these two terms is necessary for deciding on the appropriate actions and calculating costs. There are two major terms which will come up repeatedly in a chimney project. What follows are a number of important factors that must be considered before beginning to tear down your old chimney. In the event you wish to remove the chimney for purely aesthetic reasons, the effort involved may prove more than it’s worth. Unfortunately, this is not as simple as it first seems, and there are many factors to consider before you begin.

You might be looking at your old chimney and thinking about removal.

Chimney masonry stack