Awesome!! That was all done with hand tools back in the day. No googling, no cement mixer, no safety gear, job done perfectly with a set of plans and skilled hands.
Hi Chad . What a great project to undertake. They are lucky to have you because over time watching your videos it's clear to me that you care about these old structures. I've been a mason for 30 years and we definitely have that in common. I think it's criminal that the people who were in there before you used anything other than lime mortars. No better way to accelerate it's deterioration than Portland products on old structures like that. Lastly I have the ultimate ridge hooks and I love/hate them. They are poorly engineered, however when you need them you need them. God bless, good luck
Thank you for the detail. The "wide-ness" of the top 10 feet would "be very cold" and I imagine the various fireplaces, when used, produced a lot of smoke, but there were probably no neighbors back then to care. Hot gasses seem to "turn back to smoke" the moment they get cold. I guess the chimney hasn't been used in decades because the "coldness" of the top, being so large, would produce a ton of creosote on those bricks and there isn't any. I suspect you will keep each chimney separate as long as you can, feeding into a smaller, main chimney that will hold its heat, being a smaller box. Also, sections and voids could be filled with perlite for insulation, and to hold heat. Maybe?
Usually only see fastened metal panels on barns would be afraid to put them on a house. Probably most houses during that period would of had wooden shakes for the roof. They do make metal shake roofing which is a bit more expensive; maybe they will replace it with a least a standing seam once the chimney is finished..
I was quoted $100k for my center chimney Rumford fireplace restoration. Is that high? It felt high to me and the owner didn't think it could be restored, but rather demolished and rebuilt. Any advice for Western Massachusetts home?
