Rule of thumb, if a metal chimney system looks bad from the ground, guaranteed up close it will look worse… “Much Worse”. When we purchased our Fannie Mae foreclosure a couple months back I was immediately concerned about the chimney. The previous owner had removed the woodstove as he also did with anything that wasn’t bolted down. What he couldn’t remove he smashed.
What remained was the supposedly insulated chimney system that opened into the living room at the ceiling and what looked to be a cobbled together mixture of both insulated and non-insulated pipe extending above the roof. If one was lazy they might think, “If it worked for them it will work for me”. Knowing the house had been heated during the past winter with the now missing woodstove, it was tempting to think all was fine and the chimney was safe.
Na, that’s not how I do things. Just the fact that it didn’t look shiny new was more than enough of a red flag to have me purchasing a whole new chimney system. Armed with a sturdy aluminum ladder, I started this Saturday morning project.
Before I even put the ladder against the eves my Mrs. piped up, “Why don’t you pull the motor home alongside the house and work from it’s flat roof instead of trying to keep all that stuff together on a slippery metal roof”. A wiser statement couldn’t have been said, I immediately pulled our RV up close and could step right from its roof to within a foot of the chimney.
Having a staging area at the right level made the job almost simplistic. I say almost because no matter what I had to contend with one very slippery work surface. Wearing shoes with soft rubber soles didn’t help much. Basically the 1/4″ heads of the screws that secure the roof panels was all that kept me from sliding right off and bouncing my less than agile body to the ground.
As I disassembled the existing chimney it quickly became apparent that it was a miracle the past owner didn’t burn the place to the ground. The whole thing crumbled into a rusted mass coming apart in small pieces. How it didn’t leak smoke and flame into the house I’ll never know.
Overall the installation went well. I did have to modify the existing ceiling box to accommodate the new chimney that was of a different brand. I was pleased to find the metal insulation barrier in the attic still in good condition allowing me to save $40 over replacing it. Beyond those 2 items the whole chimney is now replaced with bright shiny new stainless steel components that should last far longer than I will.
For my efforts I can now enjoy a cozy warming fire on these cool crisp mornings of approaching fall. While I rock back and forth watching the flames flicker through the glass door of the stove, I can dab antiseptic ointment on the numerous bleeding wounds on my hands.
Falling off the roof isn’t the only concern when working on metal chimney systems. Sharp edges will have you leaving red stains no matter how careful you are. Be sure to scrub your wounds carefully.