Hello, I am a bathroom contractor/firefighter and owner of a San Francisco victorian built in the 1880’s. I have a brick chimney that is no longer used that I would like to remove. I read the story in “Great Moments” in your current issue of Fine Homebuilding, is that a recommended way of removing the chimney? Thanks, Sig233
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I helped my BIL (well, actually now he's my X-BIL) take down a chimney in a home built ca 1900. Thankfully none of the structure (2 floors plus basement) were bearing on it, despite the fact that it was an interior chimney, so we didn't have to do any structural work.
My BIL (I have too much trouble with heights) first knocked the exposed part down, dropping the pieces into the flue, then we started disassembling it from inside the attic.
Aside from the exposed part (that had been repointed) the mortar was sufficiently rotten that it came down with mostly just a little prying. We put the bricks in buckets and carried them out, knocking any loose mortar into the flue. When we got down to the second floor we had to peel off the plaster, of course, but again it was mostly just a little prying, and it came off in large slabs.
It took us maybe 4 hours to get it down to the basement, and then I left him to do the last bit and clean up all the mess we'd dumped down there.
So really the key to doing it is to have rotten mortar.
Sig,
I took down two brick chimneys about 6 months ago. There's nothing to it... except major dust, muscle, and finding somewhere for the bricks. Started on the roof with a single-jack (small sledge hammer). Knocked out a couple of bricks at a time. I was lucky in that we have a big yard and I could just toss them out in the yard. One of our chimneys was exposed on the side of the house for the entire height. That one was easy. The second was interior... used to serve the kitchen stove back when it burned wood. Took down everything above the roof, then went in the attic, took that part down, and tossed the bricks out the attic window. Then went in the kitchen, removed the plaster around the chimney, tarped off the area with plastic sheeting and masking tape, and took the rest down. Wear a dust mask or respirator and clean up all the dust before your wife gets home.
Both of our chimneys were built on a base of fieldstones. Bottom line is that we ended up with a major bill for getting rid of the bricks, and a huge pile of fieldstone in the yard. If you're lucky maybe your bricks will come apart intact, but most of mine busted into pieces.
If SF you'll probably get lucky and the mortar will be soft. They used a lot of sand from Ocean Beach in mortar and concrete in the old days, and it's all turning to dust.
Edited 2/22/2004 11:54:36 PM ET by davidmeiland
Being in SF and working this time of year, start by having ready at hand the materials you'll use to patch the hole in the roof. You'll also need a body harness and lifeline unless this is a flat roof. Watch the weather reports, work from the top down, not like they did in the magazine, and patch the roof asap before it rains again. An electric rotary hammer would make the roof part of it a lot easier and therefore safer, since you'd only have one tool to hang onto, and it has a cord.
Getting rid of unnecessary masonry is an excellent idea in earthquake country. Used bricks make very nice garden walkways.
But most of all, be careful up there.
-- J.S.