swindmill

-- I wasn't sure what subforum to post in; this is as much a structural question as anything, but it does involve brick work --

My house is about 110 years old, and the previous owner did a complete renovation. It seems as though he removed the very top of the chimney, so that it goes from the fireplace on the first floor to the attic ceiling. I'd like to remove what remains of the chimney in the attic, to make room for improvements. What considerations are there when knocking the chimney out under these circumstances?

itsreallyconc

1st consideration's a dust mask remove it 1 brick at a time ( 5gal bkt ),,, as an alternate, you could drop it all at once then pick it up brick-by-brick from the 1st floor OR basement followed by repairing ceilings & floors,,, i vote for the former as the latter's not good impo !

swindmill

Yeah, I'll go with the brick by brick method. I really only need to remove it from the attic ceiling to the attic floor, then I'm hoping that I can just lay plywood subfloor over the hole it leaves in the attic. So, it's safe to say there are no structural concerns when removing a chimney?

GregC

Hello, Yes, safe to say that. The above posts are good advice. Start from top, brick by brick in a 5 gallon bucket, lowering or carrying it down. Takes time, but no real easy or fast way to do it.

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GregC, President/Founder [COLOR="Blue"]www.Quicktoolbeltsystem.com[/COLOR]

swindmill

Thanks for the help. As long as I can do it without bringing someone else in, I've got the time.

GregC

Grab a brew, turn on some tunes and take your time and be careful. Unless you have some hot chick who can help you too? That makes it fun!

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GregC, President/Founder [COLOR="Blue"]www.Quicktoolbeltsystem.com[/COLOR]

swindmill

I'm sure my girlfriend would be happy to help. Sounds like a good Friday night to me.

GregC

Oh Yeah! NOW take your time!

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GregC, President/Founder [COLOR="Blue"]www.Quicktoolbeltsystem.com[/COLOR]

swindmill

Taking my time won't be a problem. Speaking of time, what's the most efficient way of breaking the mortar/removing the bricks?

GregC

If you start from the top layer, a small hand sledge will work just fine. You can hold each one an tap them out if you don't want them to fall down inside. If not and you can make a mess, use a "BFH" The bigger the better and start swinging! Let your G/F do the swinging, probably looks better doing it. You sit back and do the coaching

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GregC, President/Founder [COLOR="Blue"]www.Quicktoolbeltsystem.com[/COLOR]