Taking down a chimney - how?

[texbaylea]

I would like suggestions toward taking down a full masonery chimney. I am planning to add on to that side of the house and change the uses of the room involved beside the chimney is in bad shape. The chimney is less than 18' tall so that is not a major factor. I cannot find anyone to hire to do this job so will have to tackle it with the help of my son.

I am open to all comments.

Vernon

 

[bczoom]

Vernon,

Would you by chance have a picture?
Is the chimney fully on the exterior or is the masonary also viewable from the inside of the house?
You mentioned that you're going to change the room. Is any part of that exterior wall coming out or being removed?
Do you have a basement? If so, does the chimney extend into the basement?

Brian

 

[slowzuki]

The reason he asks about the basements is most chimney deconstruction involves starting at the top and dropping the bricks down the flue and removing at the bottom.

I have heard of people pulling them over too as they topple quite easily. Fracture on the back side of where you want it to break and put it over. May be some additional damage from debris this way.

 

[timb]

Interior or exterior could make a big difference. An exterior would actually worry me more - unless you had a good scaffold setup. Interior (assuming it's accessible) seems safer.

Plus - how solid is the mortar? I just took out an old and unused 35 foot 60"x18" plaster-covered brick chimney. But I hired a local general construction crew to take it down below roof and close in / shingle the hole - and we also had full access to the full length - attic to basement - as we renovate the house.

SWMBO and I proceeded to hand-disassemble the chimney a brick at a time right down to the footer. Actually very easy but very dirty work - the mortar was completely shot - more dust than bond. However, in the occasional spot where we hit an old repair where the mortar was still solid (or the plaster had been repaired with patching cement!) - the pace definitely slowed down. Nothing fancy - cold chisels, mallets, and pry bars at that point. Use goggles and good dust masks and have at it.

If you don't have that kind of all-sides, all-floors access - there is probably some way to collapse the chimney into itself a little at a time - and withdraw the bricks from the top - but that is going to be slow slogging.

(Tractor content - the loader made quick work of hauling the bricks out to the barn. At least I got some seat time out of the project!)

 

[texbaylea]

Let me get some pictures but I am on a project for a non profit group right now - be a few days. Its exterior with no basement. Except for a raised hearth it is only a single brick face inside. The now exterior wall will become interior with the fireplace opening and a sliding door opening to be closed. It is and will stay load bearing. I don't know how good the mortar is but I am hoping they built it using dry brick so it won' be too hard. It is about 5' wide but a single flue - don't know how it is filled.

I bought a cheap demolition hammer from Harbor freight that I hope will help if it holds together. I also will probably get some scaffolding to work from. Yeah, the tractor will cetainly be put to work hauling off the detritus. I don't think that I could pull it down but will try - who knows, might get lucky and get part of it down.

Thanks for the thoughts. Keep them coming.

Vernon

 

[jim_wilson]

A couple of years ago I added a second floor onto my ranch style house. One of the jobs involved in that was taking down the chimney because 1) it had to be extended - and 2) there was a big crack right in the middle of the chimney. I found that by using a small sledge hammer and just going up the ladder I was able to start at the top and knock pieces out of it pretty quickly. I took about 8 feet down in a few hours and then stopped because the mason we hired to build the new chimney wanted to take the rest down himself for some reason. Try getting up to the top of the chimney and give a few whacks here and there with a good sized framing hammer or small sledge and you may find it comes apart pretty easily.

 

[DannyD]

We hzd one in our house when we bought it. It went from the living room, to the garage, FLUE that is. We simple took it out above the roof, till I could let it fall without damaging anything else. One push and it was down. Surprised me that it was mostly held up by going thru the roof of the garage. Our mortar was good, the flue liners broke but most mortar held

 

[bczoom]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( I don't think that I could pull it down but will try - who knows, might get lucky and get part of it down. )</font>

Pulling could be dangerous as all the debris is heading towards you. I would propose that you put your 3130 in the living room and push instead. /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[texbaylea]

bczoom

I thought about doing that but my wife said that she did not want the soot from the diesel exhaust getting on everything. I thought that she was being a spoil sport. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[DaNag]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( Try getting up to the top of the chimney and give a few whacks here and there with a good sized framing hammer or small sledge and you may find it comes apart pretty easily. )</font>

Bingo...assuming it's not reinforced with rebar.

Had ours ripped out for a remodel last year. One big guy, one big sledge, one short job. He had it done before lunch.

 

[Tom_H]

I know he's not going in the living room, but still pushing is more dangerous than pulling IF the structure is very tall, because you may push the center out then the top drops straight down (like twin towers) straight on the tractor. If pulling, attach to multiple points at differing heights with lines 3 to 4 times as long as structure is tall, then you're far enough away not to get hit.

I wouldn't pull or push if there's chance of bricks pulling away any walls they're attached to. Unless you're demolishing the entire structure, I'd use scaffolding and take down 1 brick at a time.

 

[bczoom]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( I know he's not going in the living room, but still pushing is more dangerous than pulling IF the structure is very tall, because you may push the center out then the top drops straight down )</font>

Hey Tom, yea, I know. Anyone that has even pushed on a dead tree with the FEL knows of the debris that comes down on you. I just wanted to see if he could get the tractor in the living room. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[8NTX]

Taking down a chimney reminds me of an incident that happened to my dad, many years ago. I must have been about 13 or 14 at the time. Anyway, my Dad used to work for Ford at the assembly plant in Dallas. They would go on strike every few years, and when they did, he would take on odd jobs. He had a good friend that owned a farm outside of town. There was an old house on the property that he wanted to tear down, and hired my dad to do it. I was along to help one day. Inside the house, my dad had chiseled enough of the old fireplace and the supporting structure to bring the whole thing, chimney and all, down inside the house. He made me stay outside, removed the supports and ran outside real quick to avoid the bricks and debris falling inside. The only thing he didn't count on, was that the chimney itself rolled off the roof.

You guessed it, it fell on him after he ran out the door. Luckily, he was wearing a hardhat, but it got his shoulders and back as well. Knocked the breath out of him, but he was able to hobble to the car. But by the time we got there, he was hurting pretty bad and in no shape to drive. No one was at home at the time and we were out in the country with no homes nearby. I knew the way to the hospital, and drove him there. He had an overnight stay, and seems he was laid up for a week or so.

Steve

 

[drm]

Vernon,

As you have probably gathered by now, demolition of a chimney is not child’s play. It is a tall slender structure that is usually built as an integral part of the building. Depending on construction details, age, and condition of bricks and mortar, a poorly planed demolition can cause serious consequences of bodily injury and/or personal property.

You must be able to determine the connections of the chimney to every part of the surrounding structure before planning to “knock” down the chimney. If you are not comfortable or not absolutely sure, do not do it.

Building scaffolding and dismantling it “one brick at a time” will allow for errors in initial assumptions that can be corrected when the connections/details are exposed. This would be my preferred method of demolition.

What ever method you employ, be careful. It is much more complicated that felling a tree and many are injured or worse doing this.

 

[hitekcountry]

drm

You touched on a point I was going to make and that is that some chimneys are strapped or bolted into the structure. also it is even possible for the chimney to be providing support for some part of the building. If either of these conditions exist, pulling the chimney over with a tractor could get rather interesting, and yes, very dangerous.

Fred

 

[drm]

Fred,

You are exactly right. Sometimes even with a good knowledge of construction and sound demolition plan mistakes happen. I feel that one needs to invest the initial time and effort to establish a good method of demolition prior to taking on even a small project like this. I hate hearing about the projects that went bad in a serious way.

 

[edski]

Safe and easy (and slow)...hammer them towards the interior of the chimney, layer by layer. When the chimney fills up, MT as you go. It's not a lot of fun, but it's not difficult either.