Upper chimney missing.

Just bought second investment house in small town with a chimney that has been removed top down to just past the roofline on an eave side.
Assume the top had corroded - as there has been extensive plaster patching on wall above firebox. The roof sheathing is an inch or two above the top row of bricks. Obviously the previous owner didn't have the money to fix it right, so gave up fireplace.

We need to get fireplace operational as cheaply as possible. We will probably retail house in upper 50's. Painted brick fireplace is on the side but very close to the front of a front gabled house so needs to look OK.

2Q's: 1)can we build chase off good brick with metal flue (assume it would need to be double walled). I think that having mason rebuild to former glory is last resort ($).

2) if chase is feasible, how high do we need to go to get a good draft...flue is approx 12 feet from ridgeline and slope is around 6/12.

thanks in advance for your time. Nick

 

You can probably do that, but check with your Building Inspection Department for local code first before you do anything.
Normally a chimney needs to be about 2' above the nearest ridgeline to prevent downdraft, but you might be able to use a swivel cap on a double-metal "zero clearance" type chimney to make it work.
See what the Building Inspector says. They will call the shots on this.
And you don't want to sell a lawsuit over a non-approved, not-to-code fire hazard.
Good Luck!
Mike

 

Thanks OldGuy for the excellent service! Just wanted your opinion I guess. I will put it on the to do list. Have a great day! Nick