Those who do know shit about tools

[Diarmuid]

But if the mortar is too degraded, or rain water has got at the bricks & liner, or there was ground settling or a wee earthquake, or someone did a hack job punching in a woodstove fifty years ago.... Even a hard whack with a sledge on the roof can cause the chimney to buckle and blow out between floors, possibly taking a good chunk of your house with it. It's a good idea to at least have a gander at the brickwork at each level before starting the demo. There's so.much.weight involved.

 

[bmiller]

But if the mortar is too degraded, or rain water has got at the bricks & liner, or there was ground settling or a wee earthquake, or someone did a hack job punching in a woodstove fifty years ago.... Even a hard whack with a sledge on the roof can cause the chimney to buckle and blow out between floors, possibly taking a good chunk of your house with it. It's a good idea to at least have a gander at the brickwork at each level before starting the demo. There's so.much.weight involved.

View attachment 571795

Your picture shows what looks like sand brick, as opposed to a fired clay material. So it's likely non cememtitious mortar, all of that can degrade over time.
More modern masonry walls are built with fired clay brick and or block and lime/sand/cement mortar.

And stop putting an s on brick. When you look out the window and see a bunch of deer do you say "look at all those deers"

 

[Ease the sheet.]

Your picture shows what looks like sand brick, as opposed to a fired clay material. So it's likely non cememtitious mortar, all of that can degrade over time.
More modern masonry walls are built with fired clay brick and or block and lime/sand/cement mortar.

And stop putting an s on brick. When you look out the window and see a bunch of deer do you say "look at all those deers"

The "how old are you" thread is full of old dears...

 

[Diarmuid]

Your picture shows what looks like sand brick, as opposed to a fired clay material. So it's likely non cememtitious mortar, all of that can degrade over time.
More modern masonry walls are built with fired clay brick and or block and lime/sand/cement mortar.

And stop putting an s on brick. When you look out the window and see a bunch of deer do you say "look at all those deers"

Bricks is the common American usage. Either is correct. 'Hit the bricks'. Please don't lecture an English major on language usage.

 

[bmiller]

Bricks is the common American usage. Either is correct. 'Hit the bricks'. Please don't lecture an English major on language usage.

Please don't lecture a bricklayer on commonly held trade terminology.

 

[Mrleft8]

I notice no flue tiles. I had two chimleys w/o flue tiles. I put BS single wall stove pipe up one. and 2X wall SS stove pipe up the other.
Both worked great. The BS was a lot cheaper, and it actually drew better than the 2X.

 

[Liquid]

If it doesn't support a fireplace, old chimney stacks need to go!

As posted above, a very simple and fast demo of pushing the top into the hole, then a bucket brigade to the dumpster. It goes way faster than you think it will.

The pain in the ass is the roof patch!

All modern utilities can vent out the side of the house.

 

[Liquid]

60s I'd say. Early 60s I believe that's a Tappan "Fabulous 400".

Not a "Fab 400" as no integrated top section but probably a Tappan of some sort.

Nice call out!

 

[Ed Lada]

Bricks is the common American usage. Either is correct. 'Hit the bricks'. Please don't lecture an English major on language usage.

Please don't lecture a bricklayer on commonly held trade terminology.

So we've come to this. Brick pedantry!

Get a brick lined room you two!

 

[Fat Point Jack]

There is only 1 "a" in masonry.

 

[Captain Ketamine]

But if the mortar is too degraded, or rain water has got at the bricks & liner, or there was ground settling or a wee earthquake, or someone did a hack job punching in a woodstove fifty years ago.... Even a hard whack with a sledge on the roof can cause the chimney to buckle and blow out between floors, possibly taking a good chunk of your house with it. It's a good idea to at least have a gander at the brickwork at each level before starting the demo. There's so.much.weight involved.

View attachment 571795

I think this is classic brick hoarding. The guy has hidden a few bricks in his cupboard from the wife and she’s obviously opened it up an voila…

 

[bmiller]

A couple final comments on the art of masonry:
It's the world's second proffesion.
Mortar, does it hold brick together or apart? Ponder that for awhile.

 

[IStream]

Your picture shows what looks like sand brick, as opposed to a fired clay material. So it's likely non cememtitious mortar, all of that can degrade over time.
More modern masonry walls are built with fired clay brick and or block and lime/sand/cement mortar.

And stop putting an s on brick. When you look out the window and see a bunch of deer do you say "look at all those deers"

I didn't post a picture and I didn't mention cement. As for "bricks", if you can't even reply to the right post, why should I take your word on proper usage (which is wrong)?

Definition of BRICKS

a handy-sized unit of building or paving material typically being rectangular and about 21/4 × 33/4 × 8 inches (57 × 95 × 203 millimeters) and made of moist clay hardened by heat; a good-hearted person; a rectangular compressed mass (as of ice cream)… See the full definition

www.merriam-webster.com

 

[bmiller]

I didn't post a picture and I didn't mention cement. As for "bricks", if you can't even reply to the right post, why should I take your word on proper usage (which is wrong)?

Definition of BRICKS

a handy-sized unit of building or paving material typically being rectangular and about 21/4 × 33/4 × 8 inches (57 × 95 × 203 millimeters) and made of moist clay hardened by heat; a good-hearted person; a rectangular compressed mass (as of ice cream)… See the full definition

www.merriam-webster.com

I wasn't replying to your post.

Brick is the common vernacular used in the trade. I apologize for scolding you.

 

[IStream]

Just keep doublin' down, Bam. But I appreciate the apology.

 

[Raz'r]

A buddy lives in Tahoe, nice big brick fireplace, etc. had a bit of a snowdam on the roof, on a windy night it moved, and that chimney unzipped the exterior wall, top to bottom. Nice little insert and side exhaust replaced it.

 

[bmiller]

Just keep doublin' down, Bam. But I appreciate the apology.
View attachment 571892

Aha, I didn't scroll up far enough to see that one. Sorry about that.
My comment was based on the age of the wall you were tearing down. Just trying to shed some light on why the material was in the condition it was.

In my defense you quoted my response to diarmuid.

 

[IStream]

I appreciate that. When I was cleaning the brick() prior to laying the patio, I could get all the mortar off two at a time just by knocking them together gently. One good earthquake, which we got about a year after we pulled the chimney down, and it would've come down by itself.

 

[bmiller]

I appreciate that. When I was cleaning the brick() prior to laying the patio, I could get all the mortar off two at a time just by knocking them together gently. One good earthquake, which we got about a year after we pulled the chimney down, and it would've come down by itself.

Yes, you just described lime and sand mortar, no cement was used. Walls built with that type of mortar relied on mass to to maintain integrity. Multi-wythe walls were bonded together with header courses before metallic reinforcing was available. They could be very wide!

Next time you look at a very old wall notice about every 16 inches vertically a course appears to be brick laid sideways. Those are headers tying the wythes together. In modern construction the same bond is used as an architectural component.

Edit to add:
FYI, I began laying brick in my HS votec program (1977), we used lime and sand mortar because you could disassemble a wall and "shake up" the mud. Basically reconstitute it with water. Entered the 3 year BAC local 1 union apprenticeship in 1978. Worked my way up to foreman with D. E. Farr and associates running large commercial projects. Got stupid lucky later in life and landed a FD job but still did custom homes on the side.

 

[Glenn McCarthy]

Leo, on the Tally Ho rebuild did a sharpening video showing his and his teams methods of sharpening tools. It convinced me I needed to up my game, though I'll never be able to justify the expense.

So I bought a Craftsman wet sharpener at an estate sale.

Then ordered a Guide Jig from China. As well as put on my Xmas wish list, which my son provided me a DMT Duo Sharpener - diamond sharpening plates.

I just tried it all, sharpening both sets of chisels.

Then the last step, Leo and gang would shave the hair off their arms with their work. It looks like I need more practice as only 1/2 of my hairs are gone!