I have a wood burning masonry fireplace/chimney (on an exterior wall) that cracked years ago. I'm trying to figure out the best/most cost effective way of repairing/replacing it.
I have gotten bids to replace the whole fireplace for 10k. I would hate to replace it and have it crack again in another earthquake. Is it possible and is it cheaper to remove the masonry chimney and convert to gas wit in-wall flue?

Thanks!!!

 

no reply???? I NEED HELP HERE PEOPLE!

 

If you're in an earthquake prone area, getting the chimney rebuilt out of REINFORCED masonry may not be a bad idea. If you're just trying to repair a crack, you can tear down to the crack and rebuild from there. Or you can rip out the old chimney and replace with a metal flue liner, and frame around it and add siding or brick veneer to match whats there.

If you're thinking of replacing it with a gas log w/ side vent system, I don't think you even need to remove the existing chimney. Just drill through what's there and seal off the old flue top and bottom (bottom to keep inside air from entering, wasting heat, and top to keep debris from accumulating inside the flue).