Chimney - basement portion needing professional repair


  #1  
Old 10-15-03, 09:42 AM
S
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Apr 2002
Location: Minnesota
Posts: 40
Upvotes: 0
Received 0 Upvotes on 0 Posts
Exclamation Chimney - basement portion needing professional repair

The basement portion of my chimney is crumbling and I know I need professional help, but I am not sure what kind of questions to ask. The chimney is in a 100 yr. old house and goes through two stories. There are no fireplaces. There is a gas boiler and gas hot water heater vented through it.

I started pulling cracked patch off on Saturday and when bricks started coming out and crumbling, I quit. Today (Wednesday) I went to look at it and there is now a small hole visible. There are also several vertical cracks. I turned the heat off (I live in Minnesota and I can't do this for long) and I have a mason coming today.

I considered getting the chimney removed and getting a high efficiency gas boiler that vents through the wall. I need to get the house re-roofed and I could get the chimney hole covered at the same time. Is this a reasonable solution? What kinds of questions do I ask and what kinds of options do I have? Thanks for your help!
 
  #2  
Old 10-15-03, 10:10 AM
C
Member
Join Date: Nov 2001
Location: Taylors, SC
Posts: 9,261
Upvotes: 0
Received 0 Upvotes on 0 Posts
You can have a mason or structural engineer look at the chimney and evaluate it for repair. You will likely have to hire a demolition specialist to remove the chimney. Due to the incredible weight of bricks stacked, these pose dangers from collapse if not properly removed or repaired.

Making the transition to not needing the chimney, since there is no fireplace, might be the best in the long run. I would look at the cost of repair versus the cost of removal as a starting point.

Hope this helps.
 
  #3  
Old 10-16-03, 09:24 AM
S
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Apr 2002
Location: Minnesota
Posts: 40
Upvotes: 0
Received 0 Upvotes on 0 Posts
Initial estimates

Thanks!
The initial repair estimate from the mason is $3000 for removing and rebuilding the basement portion of the chimney. $2500 for removing and rebuilding it from the roofline up. Both repairs need to be done.

The estimate is $2500 for complete removal. Only problem is that all of the furnace places have quoted me $5,000 to install a high efficiency gas boiler.
 
 

Thread Tools
Search this Thread
 
Ask a Question
Question Title:
Description: