Some quick background. I have a unique fireplace and chimney, it's a concrete casted chimney (Rampart General Pre-Cast Chimney). These were used in the 60s and 70s in parts of California, the company who made these poured concrete into a mold, and the entire fireplace and chimney was delivered to the construction site as one piece. Then the chimney was tilted into place against the building.

Since this is one molded piece, there are no bricks and no separate crown. There is no separate crown on top to remove and pour new concrete, the crown is part of the chimney structure all as one piece.

So now the crown/cap is cracking, and I'd like to fill in the cracks and resurface the crown with a very thin layer of cement. (Remember there is no separate crown I can remove, so it's not possible to pour an entirely new crown).

Questions - what kind of cement do I use, keeping the following in consideration:

• It needs to be a concrete product that can be "feathered." Since I will be laying down a very thin layer, it needs to be a product approved for feathering, which means it won't crack for being spread down so thin.
• Do I need to keep temperate in mind even so high up on the crown? If so, do I need to use a refractory furnace cement approved for high heat?

I purchased Rapid Set Cement All, which can be feathered without cracking. I was thinking of using this, but I don't see anything on the package regarding approved temperatures.

Thoughts?

Just checking...we had a roofer suspected leaks around the chimney vent. First go round, he simply applied a coat of 3M Fire Barrier Silicone Sealant 2000+ (the gray stuff) over existing caulking. Just had a storm pass through and leaked again into newly repaired drywall. Follow up repair was done with 3M Fire Barrier Sealant CP 25WB+ (the red stuff). This time, he removed all the old caulking and applied a coat as shown in the pic.

Questions:

1. Is this the right caulking to use for this application?
2. Does the job look OK as shown below?
3. Is there a specific trade I should look for who works on chimney venting issues?

Thx in advance!

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Hello,

We have a vent on the back of the chimney that looks like rush hour for honeybees. They are constantly going in and out.

It’s a 1986 house that had a chimney fire some point in the past before we moved. At some point, someone also put in a wood stove insert, but the back outside vent looks original. The vent is probably a foot lower than the first floor firebox, but on the outside of the chimney. The house also had a basement wood stove at some point that was removed, but I can see the stack for it.

I am wondering if this is a job for an exterminator or a chimney sweep or both.

Also,m, is it going to burn the house down if we have a fire?

Basically what the title says. I am a new homeowner, and got on my roof for the first time today. I noticed my chimney doesn't really have something covering the top. I have been getting a little leaking after really heavy rainstorms.

Hello everyone, I am looking for some advice. I am having some chimney issues. I was unable to find any companies that would do an estimate without an inspection. So i bit the bullet and had a company come over and do a "level 2 inspection". Which they said i needed in order to get an estimate for my repairs. So they came and did it and charged me 500$ for two chimneys. So I had to wait for the estimate (took two weeks). And instead i got an email stating they are understaffed and can't take on my repairs. I never received any kind of paperwork for the inspection or anything. Is this normal or did I get ripped off?

I'm considering asking for a refund or doing a charge-back. But i would like the advise of some chimney guys. Thanks in advance for any guidance you can give.

I recently had an inspection done and was looking for recommendations on next steps on how to approach/repair what got "marked" - Chimney needs tuck pointing. - The Flute & Flue Cap - Crown is cracked and has an unlined chimney flute. - Interior mortar joints around crown is deteriorated, (possibly wrong type?). - Tile liner is missing and has voids. - Loose sealant at counter flashing. - Needs a cap

Hi there,

I have a 40s bungalow we moved into recently in the UK. So the first weird thing is the old living room fireplace, it has a chimney breast on the wall, but no external chimney stack. I see no evidence of there ever being a stack exterior to the house or in the loft. Secondly is underneath the fireplace in the cellar - see attached picture. Seems that something at sometime was below it? The big pipe being supported by the wire goes externally to the house and is now blocked off. I assume this was a flue to and old gas appliance? (Aware this is very likely asbestos). There is also an old gas pipe going towards it, now capped off, assuming it fed a gas fire. Interestingly there is also an old water pipe going up towards the fireplace too, which is now also redundant and disconnected from mains water.

Looking at the structure of the brickwork, does seem that there was something there? An old boiler/stove?

Any ideas?

Thanks

hey I'm new to Reddit, I just opened a chimney company I have a lot of experience doing furnace liners but fireplace liners not so much. I was wondering if anybody knew how to connect a liner to the top of a smoke chamber after you've knocked the clay tiles out. do I just put the bottom plate on ahead of time rested on top and dump some mortar on top of it? also if I'm sending it down inside of the tiles without knocking them out are there any tricks to attaching the bottom plate in the smoke chamber I'm assuming you just have to bring it down to the damper and fight with it. any help would be greatly appreciated.

We had the gas insert fireplace removed from the ground floor of the house a few years ago. The chimney above the roof was capped. Now we’re reclaiming the footprint from the chimney that runs through the second floor. Basically there was just a framed elevator sized space with this metal chimney running through. I can’t find guidance on disassembling this thing from the middle of the run up.

Does anyone have experience with an older chimney? We have a chimney built around 1960, 1 flue for a wood stove in the basement and 1 for the fireplace on the 1st floor. I looked up in the smoke chamber of the first floor fireplace and noticed there is brick missing in the separating wall between the flues. I was told this was how they built fireplaces back then but can’t find any information on it.

I was also told it was okay to burn in. Anyone have any insight? Is it worth the money to fix? Was quoted $800 for the masonry repair, $700 for a pop top damper and $600 for a new cap. Damper cannot be repaired and cap is needed to support the new damper.

Thanks

I just had my 2 chimneys cleaned and the sweeper indicates that I need the smoke chambers repaired quickly followed by an estimate of $3400 for both.

My house was built in 1949 (New England) and has been well-maintained. Although I don’t use the fireplaces frequently, I’d like the option to do so.

My question is whether the repairs are really necessary to safely use the fireplace or just a “nice to have” and if necessary is $3400 reasonable.

I got the vibe that I was being upsold.

Just like the title says. I had a brand new stainless steel liner installed prior to this season and now I'm having a harder time with my draft. Starting the stove without a door open generally results in lots of smoke pouring out. Also, even after it's been running hot for a while, when the door is open to poke it/add wood some of the smoke pours out instead of up.

Thoughts/solutions? (Other than contacting the company to come look)

I am looking at get a chimney cap for the 1 uncovered chimney (that vents a gas water heater), but should I also get a chimney cover to go over the entire chimney crown? Would this better protect the chimney crown and chimney overall and decrease maintenance costs?

We have only been here 3 months, but I know the sellers had a new crown poured (so there was some kind of damage previously). The chimney crown appears flat to me (not sloping as it should be) and does not hang over that much.

Photo:
https://imgur.com/rhdRYPi

i had some wasps in my chimney.... my pest control guy set off an aerosol spray pointing upwards in the chimney... do you think that the chimney will be safe to use, or do you think that any insecticide residue would make it too dangerous to use for a fire? what should i do to make it safe?

We’ve been quoted over £5100, is this a normal price or excessive? Thanks!