exernal chimney repair

[ziggy]

guess this is a masonry question. my house was built in 1920. my chimney on the roof is in question. it needs the outside of the chimney repaired. it appears that i have a brick chimney w/concrete neatly slopped on the whole outside of the brick. i assume as an half way attempt to fix it for whatever reason. like loose morter between the bricks maybe. anyways, my concrete slop is loose and i suppose i should put it back. i've not chipped it off the outside of the brick. but did take a piece off and see what i kinda had. i guess the question is, is it ok to just go to the hardware store and get some new concrete, chip the old loose stuff off and apply some new? maybe a little culking at the base of the chimney where it meets the shingles....i'm at a lose as to anything other than that to do. as i'm sure no mason, but do believe i have a problem in the makeing......

any folks with any good ideas?

 

[SS MAYFLOAT]

Re: exernal chimney repair

A couple of years ago, I re-pointed some of the bad mortar joints in my chimney. I used regular Quickrete mortar. This was the one for my oil fired furnace. On my chimney for my wood burner I used a different kind that was designed for higher temps. Sorry, but I can't remember what it was. It came in a gallon can like paint comes in.
I'm sure some of the guys on this site can give more info on it as well. Good Luck......SS

 

[BoatBuoy]

Re: exernal chimney repair

Had a similar problem. The wash on top of my chimney kept breaking up, as it's pretty thin. The local chimney sweep recommended to use stucco with fiberglass fibers in it. I found it at Lowe's and used it. It's been abuot 6 years now with no problem.

 

[FLATHEAD]

Re: exernal chimney repair

A chimney in bad shape is nothing to fool around with. It may just look like it is only external but you could have other issues as well. A chimney that old may not even have a flue liner. Seen plenty of them around here from the 20's that don't.Pieces of brick and mortar could have broke off inside causing a partial blockage. If it is lined have the liner checked, they can break down and fall inside also. I would have a reputable mason come and have a look see. If you insist on "Fixing" it your self I would chip off all the old loose stuff and then put wire on it and then coat it. But as I said if the mortar is loose and falling out of the joints you could have bigger problems than you think.

I use to live in a house that was 80 years old and the chimney was hit by lighting one night. Blew the top right off, bricks all over the yard. Once the guys got up there and started to peel away some of the loose brick I was shocked to see how poor the condition of the liner was in the chimney , not from the strike but from all the years of use. It was deteriorating pretty good.

 

[Bob_VT]

Re: exernal chimney repair

Been there done that..... I tore my old double chimney down to just below the roof line and rebuilt it.

Had to buy lumber to build a work platform around the chimney ..... my roof is steep and high.

Purchased new chimney liner, red bricks and morter...... lead flashing and tar.

Took me a few days and it was butt busting work. Had to use three ladders to get up each level and everything had to be carried. I had a friend from work help me get the lumber up to the roof and that near killed him.

It may not be the prettiest but it is strong. I did that about 17 years ago.

 

[ziggy]

Re: exernal chimney repair

went up on the roof and had another looksee. most of the concrete patching is intack. least i can't peel it off other than the one place i talked about. it does have some cracks though. thanks for the tips. sounds like concrete patch type material is in order. short of what yer talking about fh. that's whats most concerning to me. i do think i have a metal liner, flu? then the brick outside that, then the concrete patch stuff. the top seems intact around the metal liner and the top is not just peeling away like the one side. i wont be able to see down between the metal and the brick. i need to patch about a couple hand widths the thickness of the concrete. maybe an inch thick or so. then fill in the cracks i think......seem like a accpetable idea?

thanks for the help folks..............i would just as soon not do this, but ya gotta do what ya gotta do.......

 

[gss036]

Re: exernal chimney repair

I can't imagine that a metal liner would be the orginal, maybe you have a wood stove and somebody installed a 6-8 inch stainlees one. I know that what was done for my wood insert for my fireplace.

 

[ziggy]

Re: exernal chimney repair

I can't imagine that a metal liner would be the orginal, maybe you have a wood stove and somebody installed a 6-8 inch stainlees one.

i don't know if the metal liner is original or not. my guess would be not. but have no way to know. i do have a metal liner though, it's just a regular ol furnace.

well, pulled my loose chunks off. wire brushed it, shop brushed it and put some kinda sticky stuff from the hardware store onto the holes and cracks. it's supposed to help the new concrete adhear to the original part. followed that up with concrete patch repair type concrete. it wasn't any fun like i thought. tryin to stay sure footed and not spill the products. looks much better though. still got a minor cracks to repair now. just gonna use some crack repair stuff in a culk tube for brick or concrete repair. then call it better than it was.......

 

[v1_0]

Re: exernal chimney repair

Were you dead-set against internal chimney repair? I'm looking into getting our chimney repaired and there are basically three choices:

(1) repointing the mortar, and reinstalling the tiles (inside the chimney). The mortar may not be a big deal, but the tiles are another story.

(2) repointing the mortar and installing some liner - stainless steel, probably will need some insulation so that the bricks don't get to hot. [Flashing at the roof..]

(3) using the 'guardian' or 'golden flue' system. Here they insert a long 'pipe' balloon into the chimney, center it, then pour some paste mixture around it to fill the gap. When it hardens they remove the balloon. The mixure is approved for zero clearance applications when it's at least .75 inches thick. It also 'bonds' to the existing brick work and restores the chimney's structure without the repointing of the mortar...

I'd make sure that the flue lining goes all the way down your chimney... Matter of fact, I'd have a chimney sweep look at it. It sounds like the patching was a DIY job - in which case you never know what else on the chimney was DIY and done wrong, or not 'long term' enough.

The diameter of the pipe (lining/flue) is very important and also depends on what sort of 'burning enclosure' you are using. Too large, and the gasses will cool down too soon and deposite creosote in your chimney. Too small, and you get smoke in the house and your burning is inefficient. If the burning enclosure has been changed - say from an open fireplace to an insert - then the chimney should have likewise been changed/or at least evaluated.

-V

 

[ziggy]

Re: exernal chimney repair

Were you dead-set against internal chimney repair?

no, but i don't think i have to skills to accomplish chimney repair. i'd just as soon not pay someone. i guess i don't feel i have internal chimney issues. suppose i could be wrong too...

It sounds like the patching was a DIY job - in which case you never know what else on the chimney was DIY and done wrong, or not 'long term' enough.

i'm sure it was a diy job. so know nothing about anything that may have been done poorly. i did have a new furnace installed when i got the house 20+ years ago...i know, it's gettin old too. but all seems to work. i just wanted to make sure that i don't have snow, rain, and ice building up on the diy patchwork. which is where it was at. that would certainly start to move things around. shingles weren't sealed to the chimney about half the perimeter of it....the diy patch has lasted for 20 years. so didn't figure i could do any worse with patchin the patch....here's what it turned out like....

ain't pretty, but hopefully will keep the weather from attacking my house......the new concrete patch is in the upper right, the black lines is the black tar likes stuff i used to fill minor cracks....
contrary to the way that pic looks, everything is mostly flush.....

i put my ladder away......

thanks for the help folks......

 

[gss036]

Re: exernal chimney repair

By looking at your picture, I am assuming you are burning an oil fired furnace ( I think I read that somewhere here) and the liner is good enough for that.

 

[thefairlaneman]

Re: exernal chimney repair

As long as the liner is secure the main concern would be appearance and tightness from water. Why not apply some backerboard (like that used behind tile showers to the outside and then put a nice stucko layer on the outside. Make sure that new flashing is covered to prevent water from coming in. Cost would be less than 100 bucks and an easy one day project. It would look like a new chimney.

 

[FLATHEAD]

Re: exernal chimney repair

That chimney needs to have some stucco mesh wire put all the way around it and then stucco. It looks like it will hold for a while but if water gets in those cracks and freezes, it'll open right back up again. Definitly going to need some major attention in the near future. I can't make out if the chimney has step flashing and a counter flash in a riglet,, hard to tell. You should not have to seal the shingles to the chimney at all. It should be flashed somewhat like this photo.

 

[ziggy]

Re: exernal chimney repair

I am assuming you are burning an oil fired furnace

it's just a regular natural gas furnace. was replaced with a 85% effecient in 85 or so, whatever year i got the house...

As long as the liner is secure the main concern would be appearance and tightness from water.

everything looked tight to me, and i filled every crack i could find so i'd be hopefully watertight....

Definitly going to need some major attention in the near future. I can't make out if the chimney has step flashing and a counter flash in a riglet,, hard to tell. You should not have to seal the shingles to the chimney at all. It should be flashed somewhat like this photo.

yep, it may need further attn. in the near future. note though that this is the first time i did anything to it from the way i got it 20+ years ago. and nope, i didn't see any flashing like you have on your chimney......that's a little concerneing.

like i said. i was just trying to get it back to watertight. you sure have a good lookin chimney fh.......looks like it's on a very expensive house too......mine is on a 70k house (so the county assessor says). and i know nothing of how to repair a chimeny. i just did the best i could for my skill level. which is pretty low when it comes to stuff like this...... guess i'll have to try to put some bread back for chimeny repair in the future......as long as it don't eat into my boat repair funds.....a mans got to have his prioritys ya know.....

sure do appreiciate the help on this folks......thanks.....

 

[FLATHEAD]

Re: exernal chimney repair

guess i'll have to try to put some bread back for chimeny repair in the future......as long as it don't eat into my boat repair funds.....a mans got to have his prioritys ya know.....QUOTE]


LOL that boat repair fund is on top of my list

 

[thefairlaneman]

Re: exernal chimney repair

Before I would let it eat up my valuable boat money I would throw a cover over it and open the windows so the smoke could vent outside.......Gez man gettin my boat money ant goin to happin!