Advice Needed on Parging the Smoke Chamber

8 years ago

We are renovating our home we purchased that was built in 1940's. We recently had our chimney inspected and the inspection came back as follows:

1) First two tiles from smoke chamber have cracks running top to bottom and there are gaps between the first flue tile and chimney inside the smoke chamber. These would need to be removed, replaced or relined.

2) Smoke chamber is not parged. There are gaps/missing mortar between bricks.

3) Fireplace does not have a "traditional damper"; it currently has a Lyemance Damper

4) Firebox has loose brick on the the floor, cracked brick on the back wall and loose and missing mortar.

* Due to its current condition this fireplace should be considered "not functional".

We got a quote that gave us two options:

1) Demo and haul off existing chimney and construct a new chimney for $11,100.

2) Remove the back of the existing chimney to access and remove the existing flue liners and replace them with new ones. Demo the existing firebox and construct a new firebox and install a new "traditional style damper" for $6,330.

Both of these options seem incredibly high in terms of cost. Option 2 almost seems unnecessary (there's got to be an easier way) and expensive for what needs to be done.

Does anyone have any insight about cost for the above results? Isn't there a way to parge the smoke chamber without removing the back of the chimney AND if we parge the smoke chamber, won't this also take care of the cracks running top to bottom of smoke chamber?

I'm also confused why our contractor is recommending we remove existing flue liners when the chimney inspector doesn't say anything is wrong with them.

Lastly, if the firebox has loose brick on the floor, cracked brick on the back wall and loose and missing mortar, can't these bricks just be replaced or filled with mortar? Is it necessary to construct a new firebox? Keep in mind this is not a huge fireplace.

There has got to be an easier / more cost effective way of fixing this.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

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Comments (3)

akamainegrower
8 years ago
I would go to www.hearth.com and repost your questions. Much of what you've been quoted seems more than a little dubious. For example, cracked tiles can be removed without disassembling the chimney, parging can be done from the fireplace opening, and demolishing the existing chimney and building a new one seems ridiculously complex and expensive to deal with two cracked tiles.
PRO
ACCENT MASONRY LLC
8 years ago
There is no way to parge the chimney without opening it up. The crack brick in the firebox should be removed and relaid, all cracks in firebox should be ground out and tuck pointed with fire mud. Does not need to be completely rebuilt from your info provided. To replace the cracked chimney flues the fireplace will need to be opened up. The amount of work involved justifies there quotes.
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D K and Sons
8 years ago
I agree with Accent, my estimate from the desk chair was about 15k for a full replacement. The liners having a crack from top to bottom means they are not functional. During a hot fire the cracks expand and allow smoke and creosote to get behind the liner. This is how a chimney fire becomes a house fire. The liner needs repair, and it might be possible to add a Stainless Steel liner to the flue depending on the dimensions. The parging in the throat area is less of a concern to me, and I am completely confident that any attempt to reparge will fall off again. If the fireplace is big enough, then a complete inspection of the throat area may be possible, esp. since there is no damper. This inspection would reveal if additional cracks and damage are located in the throat which need to be repaired. The parging itself is not critical, but the integrity of the brick work is essential.

I agree that the firebox can be repaired without demo. I suspect that the contractor who completed the inspection did not offer a reline option because the dimensions were too small, or they didn't know how to do it. I would recommend a second opinion from a certified chimney sweep so you know what exactly is going on. A list of Certified Chimney Sweeps can be found on the Chimney Safety Institute of America website. All 50 states are listed.

Advice Needed on Parging the Smoke Chamber

Comments (3)

akamainegrower

ACCENT MASONRY LLC

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