Pulling down a block chimney?

[Piper2022]

Hello,
Hoping to get some thoughts on pulling down a block chimney at our home. Story: older, I think 60’s vintage block chimney that is in very rough shape. Many block have been compromised to the point some have softball sized holes in them. It is beyond salvageable and leaks extensively into the house. Anyways I need to take it down. Talked to a few local masons on the phone, but everyone is just too busy to even get it done before snowfall here. It’s about 20’ from grade to top of it. Upper section is about 30” wide and the bottom angles put to 48” or so due to a fire place inside. As you can see the chimney is completely external to the home other than the fire place. What would be the easiest way to remove this? I have a 12,000lb winch as well as a 40hp tractor. My thoughts are that once the fire place is demolished from the inside out, could this entire thing fall down in one piece? Ideally I would like to weaken the two outside corners of the base, then pull it over, but I hate to be standing near it when I sledge hammer away on the base.

One option I have is I might have a large 25,000lb excavator on site in a month, but the wife will kill me when she sees what that does to her gardens near by

picture here:

IMG_1289.PNG

drive.google.com

 

[fried1765]

Hello,
Hoping to get some thoughts on pulling down a block chimney at our home. Story: older, I think 60’s vintage block chimney that is in very rough shape. Many block have been compromised to the point some have softball sized holes in them. It is beyond salvageable and leaks extensively into the house. Anyways I need to take it down. Talked to a few local masons on the phone, but everyone is just too busy to even get it done before snowfall here. It’s about 20’ from grade to top of it. Upper section is about 30” wide and the bottom angles put to 48” or so due to a fire place inside. As you can see the chimney is completely external to the home other than the fire place. What would be the easiest way to remove this? I have a 12,000lb winch as well as a 40hp tractor. My thoughts are that once the fire place is demolished from the inside out, could this entire thing fall down in one piece? Ideally I would like to weaken the two outside corners of the base, then pull it over, but I hate to be standing near it when I sledge hammer away on the base.

One option I have is I might have a large 25,000lb excavator on site in a month, but the wife will kill me when she sees what that does to her gardens near by

picture here:

IMG_1289.PNG

drive.google.com

If your excavator guy has a thumb, that would likely be the best way to avoid most damage.

 

[dusty3030]

I'd rent a man lift and take it down from the top by hand.

 

[fried1765]

I'd rent a man lift and take it down from the top by hand.

That would be the most labor intensive method, but certainly the least damaging.

 

[dlctcg]

I'd rent a man lift and take it down from the top by hand.

^^^ I'd do the same.. (or staging). Least amount of damage to the house & surrounding ground. With a good demo hammer drill & some chisel bits I would think it would come down ok....

 

[dusty3030]

Yep. Wouldn't have to go all the way down with it by hand, but I'd want to really get a good idea of what I was dealing with before I took it down all at once. Hate to find out it was holding the wall up the hard way.

 

[mrmikey]

Ideally I would like to weaken the two outside corners of the base, then pull it over,...........

As long as you're sure it's not anchored to the house, bet you'll find it is tho..........Mike

 

[Larry Caldwell]

2 lb hammer, cold chisel, and a ladder. It's easy to knock blocks loose and pitch them on the ground. The chimney is probably anchored to the house, so pulling it all over at once is probably not a good idea.

 

[ning]

Ages ago I had a house with a 80 year old brick chimney which was compromised due to the ancient mortar (much which had turned to sand) and cracked by earthquakes.

I rented an electric rotohammer and took it apart chunk by chunk.

In my case, the first part (above the 12:12 roof line - I wore a climbing harness and top-roped with my climbing rope tossed over the house and attached to a tree on the other side of the house) was kinda slow going because that part was in surprisingly good shape and took a bit of effort. Once below the roof line, many bricks I could just lift off one at a time without the tool I was really glad to have done this job!

 

[grsthegreat]

better than tying off to your car bumper...and having the wife run to the store

 

[Richard]

2 lb hammer, cold chisel, and a ladder. It's easy to knock blocks loose and pitch them on the ground. The chimney is probably anchored to the house, so pulling it all over at once is probably not a good idea.

That's kind of my thoughts.... or maybe an air chisel. Rent a dumpster, toss what you can as you bring it down (unless you're going to reuse bricks?) Cart dumpster away and go to Phase II, whatever that may be for you.

 

[oosik]

Brick by brick. It's surely tied into the house in some fashion. Rent a scissor lift and a dumpster. Use electric or air impact hammer. Go at it .............

 

[Oaktree]

2 lb hammer, cold chisel, and a ladder. It's easy to knock blocks loose and pitch them on the ground. The chimney is probably anchored to the house, so pulling it all over at once is probably not a good idea.

That's what I did with a similar vintage one on my garage. The mortar had deteriorated to the point where most of the blocks didn't need much persuading to come off.
The OP's is a bit higher and more elaborate than mine, I'd go with scaffolding or a lift on that project.

 

[oosik]

Around 1986 - while out exploring - my son and I came upon an old homestead. It had a brick and mortar chimney. The "bricks" were chiseled chunks of basaltic lava. They were 6" x 8" and 4" thick. I can't imagine the time it took to hand chisel all those blocks. The homesteader probably had several older children and MANY really sharp tools. I wonder what they did in the mean time - waiting for enough chunks to be chiseled into shape.

 

[Doughknob]

I doubt it is attached to the house other than by caulking. How and why would it be attached? What would be the idea of that - what is holding what? Wall holding such a substantial block column? Block column holding wall? And then there is expansion/contraction differences. Neither the wall or the chimney need the other to hold it up or keep it plumb.

I had an external block chimney on an old house; was added after the house was built and no hidden attachment was used.

If it were me, I'd certainly remove any caulking or roofing tar at the roof interface. And I might chip away a bit of mortar at one joint line near the bottom as you alluded to in the weakening it OP; but not sledge hammer the block itself. Then, with a watcher or two on either side, I'd give a tug with the tractor and a long cable wrapped around near the top. And see what happens - if there is any give between house and chimney, if tractor can pull it.

 

[grsthegreat]

Bricks are often attached to modern houses by nailing plates that inbed in the mortar between bricks every foot or 2. Have no idea how old buildings attached brick to house, or if they even did. Seeing how chimneys fall during earthquakes on older houses, they probably did not attach it to structure. But just guessing here.

 

[4570Man]

I tore one off a house I was tearing down. I just shoved it off with my mini x. If I actually cared about the house I’d have at minimum put a cable around the top and pulled it. Renting a lift and dissembling it from the top down would be the least chance of damage.

 

[CobyRupert]

Assuming it’s not connected to house:
When pulling from the top, how would you control where it’s going to “hinge”?
Seems like it would just break off wherever the weakest mortar is.
Ever watch the guys take down a silo with a sledgehammer by knocking out the bottom tiles?

 

[grsthegreat]

No, but ive seen video of guys trying to pull down chimneys with trucks and tractors and the thing coming down on top of the machine

 

[fried1765]

Brick by brick. It's surely tied into the house in some fashion. Rent a scissor lift and a dumpster. Use electric or air impact hammer. Go at it .............

"Brick by brick"?
Not quite!
Block by block,..... a lot heavier per piece.