"I grew up in Pennsylvania and have burned more than my fair share of coal. I've also helped rebuild chimneys where years of coal burning has destroyed the mortar to the point the bricks can simply be lifted out of place, the residue blown off, and the whole thing cemented down again." Really? coal burning did that? exactly how do you know that the problem was not they type of mortar used, letting it stiffen before use etc.? and how old are these chimneys? are you speaking of the exterior portions?? this is very interesting because i have worked with chimneys that haven't been in use for over half a century, were used for woodburning before that, and they exhibit these same problems, sure its not just years of weathering or poor masonry skills initially? "I've also seen more than my fair share of "smoker" chimneys where the deleterious effects of years of coal burning have combined with weathering to eat holes in the mortar to the point where the chimney will be smoking at one or multiple points along the stack itself" I've seen the same thing in chimneys that have never burned coal. not once. "I've said it before, and I'll say it again -- it's the height of wanton stupidity NOT to spend $2,000 or $3,000 to line a chimney properly when the ultimate consequence could be devastating property loss or even death. On this subject just a few days ago there was a chimney fire in Northern Virginia where I live that caused nearly half a million in damage to the home. " The height of wanton stupidity is to convince others to waste $2000-10,000 (because in some cases thats what it will cost) to line or reline a chimney when it is not needed. I have nothing to lose or to gain by telling people not to waste money on needless lining or relining of chimneys. I simply wish to share my extensive knowledge about solid fuel combustion, chimneys, etc, on this site, for the sole purpose of helping people better understand such systems in the home; and that there are reasons for things like liners which i detailed in some previous posts, and where liners are really quite unnecessary, because in many situations they are- with no risk of chimney fires or loss of life or limb! one of those very situations where liners are unnecessary (in a sound chimney) is coal burning! coal soot will not burn(no chance of chimney fires AT ALL!), produces very little moisture to react with the fly ash and soot to produce acids in the chimney. one place where liners are almost always necessary however is air-tight woodburning because of the risk of large chimney fires, creosote leaching etc.

We have lived in our 1913 Foursquare for over 7 years now. I have definately had a love/hate relationship. When people ask, what are you doing this weekend, I just want to smack them. What do you think? WORKING ON THE HOUSE. It's ALWAYS something. There's also the question, why don't you just hire someone? Sure, we could hire someone to remodel the kitchen. But what about the roof? and the siding? and the deck? and the bathroom? and the floors, walls, attic, basement, on and on and on. If you hire someone to repair everything, then you've put way more money into the house then you'll EVER get back. It gets overwhelming at times. I seriously don't know what I'd do with my free time if I didn't have this house to work on. I really resented it until one day, a few years ago my kids told me I could never sell it. That they loved this house and one day I would have to sell it to them. I was shocked. THIS house? The one we slave over and that is constantly in chaos? The same house that tells you it's NOT okay to invite your friends over, until the deck is rebuilt, b/c it's too dangerous for guests. THIS HOUSE? And that made me really rethink it. The house is huge. The house has 8inch tall baseboards and working pocket doors. The house has 2 acres of wooded yard and allows them to do what they like in the yard. This house isn't so new that they have to worry about denting the floor. But it's much nicer than the smaller ranches that some of their friends live in. The basement was remodeled for the three boys and their friends. They have sleepovers there (with extra insulation, so I can't hear them!). If they want to change their room, or we need to add something, we just knocked down a wall, or build it in. Can you really do that in a new house? This house has sucked us dry, financially and emotionally. But it also has made us rely on ourselves even more. We find out how to fix things and we teach our kids that you do NOT have to be dependant on others to get things done. In the end, it has been worth it. And with at least another 2 years (hahahahaha, isn't that funny) worth of work on the house, we will continue on. What also made me feel better was watching my friends and family with their NEW houses. I have already see two people who built houses within the last 7 years need to replace ALL of the windows in those houses. Really. Also the furnaces. One friend needed to replace the exterior doors in his 5 year old house, built in an expensive neighborhood. PLUS, the siding. Just b/c it is new doesn't mean it's done right. Watch 'Holmes on Homes' on HGTV. BIG eye opener. Sometimes, you forget how your house looks nice. I find that it's good to take pictures and look at them on the computer. When you're walking into your living room every day for a month and only see the floors that need refinished, you miss the antique fireplace mantel you bought and installed and the stone tile you added. The walls you redid and the built ins. When I take a picture and look at it, I see the beauty of the ROOM, not the damage to the floor. Also, it's good to compare the new pictures to the old ones. Were there really hearts on the country blue wallpaper? hahahaha Lastly, dealing with the PO's previous mistakes are always What were they thinking? Just when we thought we got all of them corrected, we take down the deck to find they didn't use flashing on the ledger board. Sigh. I always worry that once I remove every last trace of the 80's, it will be time to remove every last trace of this decade. :) Sorry to go on and on, but I just found this forum and I'm glad there are people here that are just like me. Working on their old home, loving it and hating it. I wonder if everyone has lists for every room, if by the time you get to that list for a room you change your mind, if you have more than 4 projects going on at a time and if you think you'll be done by the time your youngest time graduates high school. If your idea of a great Sunday afternoon is going to Menards/Home Depot/Lowes and shopping. If the guy from the local wine/coffee shop knows your name very well (coffee in the morning/wine at the end of the day)and his first question is what are you working on now? If your friends/family come to you first when they get bids from their contractors, to see what the materials would cost vs labor, because why in the world would they put in a new door by themselves, let alone go on the hunt across the internet and two states to find the perfect 100 year old door for their house, then build it into the opening? Is this a disease?

Thanks Nancy! I think most people in our situation wouldn't think twice about going ahead with purchasing that house we like now, my husband is just extremely cautious and I'm afraid to push too hard because what if he is right? I might sit down and work out some numbers just to see. I wasn't so keen on the idea myself until we saw this house. I wouldn't have made an appointment to see it but it so happened that they had an open house the same weekend we signed our contract, so we went. We are looking for a pretty specific type of property, and when that house came on the market, our realtor said he immediately thought of us. (It's listed with another agent in his office.) After the bad dream that selling this place has been (and continues to be,) I would hate to not be able to find a new place when it finally does sell. We've said we would rent before buying something we don't like, but moving in and out of a rental during my daughter's senior year would be another bad dream. etznab, with only 24 acres left, with probably 1/3 a wooded steep portion, it would be hard to do much in the way of farming what's left. I think our best bet is someone who wants to keep horses or raise alpacas or just own some land. The second look has been postponed - I think they are still interested, just don't live in the area and had something come up. The people with the contract are getting ready to drop the price on their house so maybe something good will happen. Happy Thanksgiving and thanks for the support!

Enduring: the game room is actually the original house dating to 1790. The part with the kitchen is the addition :). Game room is about 12 x 14 with only one 6 foot segment of uninterrupted wall. 100 years ago, it was the dining room and our current dining room was the 'front' parlor, but we dont' really feel a need for a front parlor these days. Palimpsest: Good idea to check out old design books. Haven't been to the local library lately, but would be good to see some things that aren't just today's style since I don't want to get too stuck there anyway. The contractor I plan to use seems to have a tendancy to make things a bit more finished than suits my taste (why would I need trim around a wall oven--oh yeah, that's how they make money :) ), so I need to prepare myself to push back and allow the space to be a little funky. Aliris: I was playing around with that pennisula idea too after Rosie suggested one coming out from the other wall. It actually works pretty nicely as it doesn't obstruct the main traffic route for guests from dining/living to guest bath and doesn't obstruct the windows. It does result in a lot less counter space and storage however than island plan and I really want that counter space! Chris 11895: Yes, I've had the home depot kitchen designer and three different contractors (2 only do kitchens) on site. You guys have come up with everything they did and a good bit more. Thanks! Thanks to everyone for all the ideas. I'm really glad I listened to that gut feeling that something wasn't quite right and asked for help. Without the push, I never would have mocked up that chimney and discovered what a bad idea it was. Nor would it have occured to me that I could move the counter just far enough off the window wall to allow for light and cleaning rather than making it a tight passageway. I'll need to figure out what goes back there (shelves? table?), but that's something I can play around with once the counters are in. So, I think at this point I'm very happy with that idea. It leaves me with a comfortable width galley, lots of counter space, and I get to keep my kitchen table and radiator, which are my favorite parts of the kitchen as it is now. I know some of you despair at putting anything even partially in front of the windows, but believe me, when they are through the whole house you realize that the other option is having no furniture! We have a couch set up like this in the living room: sofa table behind it between the two windows and then sofa is a couple feet out from the window wall. It still leaves the light and windows visable, but makes the room functional. I have an appointment to order cabinets next week, so I'm going to move on to the next set of decisions. I'm sure some of those will lead to a few more questions! And yes, pictures will be forthcoming in a few months.