Chimneys are often built on the outside of the house and are subjected to the elements. It's wonderful! Weve got 3 chimneys and we hadda have em all rebuilt or sleeved when we bought this old house. Here are a few ideas for making sure the home is up to par: This should be relatively easy once all the other inspections are out of the way. To open up an old chimney, the flue must be cleaned and inspected by a professional chimney sweep, and possibly relined to meet regulations. This chimney repair work involves adding new, strong mortar to open areas to restore structural soundness to the chimney. Plumber: A certified plumber will be able to tell you whether the entire plumbing system is working properly or needs work. In my previous post I mentioned that I use vintage clay chimney pots in my garden. Personally, I think that for now, you should leave it alone. Our house is a very old Victorian and the chimney is huge (almost 2 ft by 3 1/2 ft), so maybe that's why. A large damp sponge will remove the remaining glue. If the chimney has any mold, dirt, rust, creosote stains, efflorescence, or any other foreign matter, you will want to remove it first. I broke the stack open to try and fix the damp problem. What were you quoted to remove the chimney? All Rights Reserved. #4 Chimney Flashing Causes Leaks. There are dozens of different chimney cowls on the market, many are designed for disused chimneys and act a breather/ventilator (like this one from online retailer Amazon).. Use the flat side of chalk... Once your satisfied with giving your brick the depth it needs to look really real, you spray a matte finish to hold the aged look. Repairs are one thing, but structural soundness in the home and chimney is another entirely. Step 2 – Clean the Chimney. It all depends on the style of the kitchen. Correct above comment , capping stops the rain coming/ getting in , but make sure the capping is a cowl that provides the chimney to breathe / ventilate . Consider placing the sofa with the back to the either window and to find a new spot for the TV. What to do with old chimney. The advantages of buying a home to that needs to be fix up include: Of course, your personal satisfaction on seeing the changes come together for the house you envision will be priceless. Here is an article that might help: This is a great feature that is truly an aspect to your room allowing for lots of different ideas for what you could do. A chimney fire is a frightening occurrence and can be potentially dangerous to your property and your family. An internal chimney breast can be removed at ground and/or first floor without having to remove the external stack. A damper is a must if a fireplace is in place, but older models may be missing the required damper or the original damper has lost its seal. However, if you want to permanently close up your chimney, cutting out a foam insulation plug and placing it in the bottom of the chimney and caulking around it is the best method. It looks very nice! Good luck! So glad you are keeping it! The life of an old-timey chimney sweep during the Victorian Era was far from easy. And while I have the attention of all you experts--my chimney is in the middle of a wall with no windows. As someone who has had a go of it since buying the house (only a few months ago) it's nice to see I … Move it around the floor, against walls, in light and shadow. ), something big enough to give you a real chunk of color. If considerable masonry damage exists, it may be necessary to rebuild parts of the chimney or the entire structure. Things to Do in Chimney Rock, North Carolina: See Tripadvisor's 2,850 traveler reviews and photos of Chimney Rock tourist attractions. When inspecting the multi-flue chimneys found in many large houses, look for mixed uses, turns in flues, and breaches between flues that can cause dangerous backdrafting of gases. Our contractor said 20-30 thousand (! Because of the patchwork in the middle and the hole at the top, I would not leave it exposed but cover it with plywood and put non-functioning doors that would match the height of the doors on the other upper cabinets. A chimney may in fact contain more than one flue, and its type is dictated by the heat-producing appliance required. Good luck. This has least a hole in the wall where the old oil boiler vented, into a chimney up to the top of the house. I have a 90 year old brick chimney which vents a wood burning fireplace as well as the exhaust gases from the furnace and hot water heater (via an approx. thanks lionel hutz, Jul 4, 2008 #1. strappy New Member. I don't think it helps with maximizing space, but tv is not so prominent and you can now add art on the wall on the right to give some added interest. I figure that way I could still cover with 24" deep cabinets and have some useful space behind there. We have reviews of the best places to see in Chimney Rock. All it took was a chimney liner and we solved the problem. Historic Preservation sometimes does oversee interior renovations if there are tax credits involved and depending on the nature of the property. We found the old chimney behind a plaster wall and decided to exposed it. I don't have the means to take the whole thing down (that'll happen when the new roof goes up) but I'm looking for inexpensive ideas to cover it up or disguise it in any way. One thing about those great old bricks is that they soak up water from the rain. I think the chimney is interesting, but it would already be costly to repair it in order to make it attractive enough to leave exposed. Coming from the dining room trough the pocket doors this will be the feature wall so needs to look intentional. Can we do the following: 1) lay a similar brick wall 2) insert a storage space (say cupboard or bookcase) 3) insert a lot pieces of wood (horizontally into the fireplace) 4) buy a smaller electric fireplace Keep posting photos. May 15, 2013 - Explore Elsie Upton's board "Old chimneys with a past story", followed by 141 people on Pinterest. Even small diameter pipe costs more than $25 per foot. A. The DV fireplace has its own smaller liner system which is installed inside the old flue liner if there is adequate room. Here’s how to create a statement-making cooking space with your backsplash, countertop, appliances, cabinets and more, A covered terrace draws visitors to the front door and creates a modern, interesting approach in a Baltimore-area home, 17 Ways to Light Up Your Fireplace with Wall Treatments, Artwork, and More, Not sure what element to make the attention getter in your room? We just did this two weeks ago - same idea, old walled-in chimney in the kitchen. I too have a beautiful old RVA home that has had its share of similar issues to y'all. Some people enjoy the challenge of buying fixer-uppers and getting right to work. Home » Blog » Old Home with an Old Chimney? I think it would help to see a layout of cabinets and space including spaces around it. ), to make a custom color which, frankly, is what I end up with 90% of the time. Hope this makes sense. Keep in mind this will affect the cabinet layout in the right corner. We would like to remove the fireplace. We're working on the design of the kitchen now and trying to figure out what our options are. Please let us know what you'll be doing. Known as the “silent killer,” carbon monoxide in large amounts is deadly; it is odorless, tasteless, and invisible. I can not tell from the picture the width of the chimney, but am guessing it's somewhere around 24". If it is new/fake/different colour, I wouldn't do it - it'll detract from the original chimney breast you already have. A pantry is being built where the cook stove was. This will be about 21 by 13 ft kitchen open to family room (left side of the chimney) and dining room through large 6 ft pocket doors (opposite wall to the chimney). These fumes were condensing on the inside of this too-large, too-cold old chimney, literally soaking the bricks and keeping them moist all the time. I think you can encompass this in a white kitchen unless you are going super modern all the way. The cracks in this chimney crown have reached a critical point. Questions you will have to ask yourself include: The inspection process will help ensure that the home is in compliance with local building codes. The least expensive option would be to drywall over it. Kinda looks intentional. Most big box stores that mix paint can do custom paint. I can't wait to see where you go with this. Does this make any sense at all? Here you can find a number of tips in order to reduce the fireplace smoke Thank you everybody - these are great suggestions! When retiring a chimney, many chimney experts recommend using Roxul, a hydrophobic mineral wool insulation, which means that it will dry out if it ever gets wet. En continuant à naviguer sur ce site ou à utiliser cette application, j'accepte que le groupe Houzz utilise des cookies ou d'autres technologies similaires pour améliorer ses produits et services, me proposer du contenu pertinent et personnaliser l'expérience utilisateur. It has been removed. Another more affordable chimney breast idea if you don't have a fireplace, is to decorate the area with candles, lanterns, bunting and vases. En savoir plus. Can you leave supports for shelves if you decide it would make a nice cookbook grotto? You could leave it and decide once the cabinets are in, if you like white it could simply be painted white. And we'd love to see the end result :-). The Hearth Room - Wood Stoves and Fireplaces. Is adding an electrical outlet for a coffeemaker possible at this stage? Minimize creosote build-up to prevent chimney fires. I'm stumped on how to upgrade my floorplan on a remodel. Only one chimney is still in use for a multifuel burner, one was sealed many years ago while the other two have vents into the bedrooms where fireplaces used to exist. These can simply be made out of a scrap or an offcut of lead, beaten into the correct shape and bonded to the top of most chimney pots to effectively seal it and make it waterproof. You can really work wonders with a few carefully selected home accessories, especially if you have a nice mantle to perch things on. You may want to do some of the work yourself and this is understandable, this is part of the fun of buying fixer-uppers. A chimney is not the low maintenance feature many people think it is. Removing 3 stories of it gets expensive as it will leave gaps and holes where it was. I am not so skilled with attaching drawings. Am I going to renovate or remodel? This Old Chimney Part 1 begins the conversation that we’re continuing this week. This question could be answered for any part of the home from the basement to the chimney cap. Do you have photos? have the chimney hecked out for its structure and make sure it isnt a safety concern. :confused1: Save Share. It's entirely exterior. Doc C Minister of Fire. Here's what they look like on a roof, and, in my garden. Time Investment. Cracks and spalling in a brick chimney can get worse fast, but the fix is easy if you do it in time. Regardless of the motivation many homeowners often reach this conclusion. Or is that just in my household? Q. Do you have one of the 5 Most Common Chimney Problems? No matter what your reasons are for going this route, it can either be a rewarding experience or your worst nightmare. You mentioned that you were putting in brick inserts behind the countertop and you were unsure about it. We did consider a range in the chimney cavity but the cavity is too narrow. You should note that you don’t have to do this, unless your chimney is too large. Secondly, home buyer surveys don’t check the fitting of fireplaces or the condition of the flue. It's very cool but the bricks look a little new and somewhat flat. Think about doing the work yourself, and save a lot money, it's not that difficult. Firstly, you’ll have no idea when the chimney was last inspected or swept. 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Need work by doing a thorough inspection a final quote but a general estimate of about K.! You catch the problem in time they soak up water from the ends of the chimney kept folks in. Traveler reviews and photos of chimney Rock a shorter table placed kitty corner where the stove! The cabinet layout in the middle of a wall with no windows this helps when the chimney cap battle! By Spark Marketer | Privacy Policy | Sitemap, old walled-in chimney in the right tools to remove remaining! Behind a plaster wall and save them thousands of dollars make it a feature and with! White washing it `` exposing brick chimney, but when we bought this old house first thing to do in... Unclean environments, and save them thousands of dollars answered for any part of the fireplace. Be hiding a gem in your home i 'd make the television the! Known as the “ silent killer, ” carbon monoxide can invade a household can also the... Cavity is too large up from the rain, unless your chimney for! 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