I could use some chimney advice

[Pixelchippy]

I live in Rochester, NY - had my chimney inspected by a couple different companies and both recommended a rebuild. One said down to the roofline and backup, other suggested the entire chimney. Cost is probably 15k-20k

Here are some pics.

Here's the short version.. would it be possible or advisable to swap the brick chimney with class A pipe and box it in with siding? I would then install some kind of insert in the fireplace, wood or gas.

 

[Pixelchippy]

Here's the long version!

There's a decent amount of spalled brick, though a lot of the spalling seems shallow. The brick was described as "not a good fit for a chimney" since it has texture on the face and is somewhat porous. The crown is cracked, it doesn't have a proper concrete cap or drip edge, you can see there are some cracked brick right above the roof flashing. The flashing looks not very well done. Mortar separated in several places. Flue tiles aren't cracked but the top one is starting to spall and there's moisture / ice down all of them. There's a small spot at the wall/ceiling joint above the fireplace that looks like there may have been a little water intrusion at some point, but I don't know how old that may be. It appears the upper 1/3rd of the chimney was redone at some point and the roof is 13 years old.

The fireplace has a capped off gas line to it without any kind of insert. Underneath the fireplace there's a spot where there's some exposed wood, so the inspector told me I shouldn't burn wood in the fireplace unless it's in a wood burning insert as that could eventually cause a fire.

So I'm trying to weigh my options here.

Option A : Get the whole thing rebuilt for I guess 20k unless I can reduce the cost a little by doing the demo myself.

Option B : Rebuild only above the roofline - this would be less but not a whole lot less - there are bricks at the bottom spalling, which one inspector indicated may mean the whole thing is compromised?

Option C : limp it along - install a stainless steel cap with a wide overhang to prevent a lot of the water issues, swap out some of the worst bricks myself, repoint as many mortar joints as I can, spray the whole chimney with water repellant. Do something to improve the flashing.

Option D : Demo below the roof and then see if I could install some Class A chimney pipe from the remaining stack? This sounds like a decent option if it is possible.

Option E : Demo the whole thing and maybe build a class A chimney with siding? This also sounds appealing if possible. I assume it has to be a lot cheaper, especially if I can DIY a lot of it.

Option F : Forget any chimney and demo the whole thing - not sure if that gets complicated at the foundation. Would need new siding, insulation, wall, I guess remove the fireplace inside, fix the roof. Seems like a lot of that could be DIY-able. The inspector said if they do all of that work it will cost similar amount to replacing the chimney - near 20k.

Any option that removes chimney function also means I need to swap our natural draft hot water with a direct vent, which I think looks DIY-able - so hopefully only about $2k more.

Before all of this we were considering getting a wood burning insert or a small stove installed...would even consider a gas insert at this point. One thing I worry about is if it would draft well enough as we found the basement hot water heater (also using the chimney) may not be drafting well sometimes as the plastic caps were a bit melted. We have a kitchen vent, windows are tight and I need to test if the vent is causing the backdraft. The chimney is 15ft tall, which seems on the edge of adequate draft for a stove. We're also in a 1 story house next to a 2 story house, which I imagine might affect draft too. Maybe any kind of fireplace is pointless.

It sounds like a fireplace also contributes to home value, so I wonder if removing it could be expensive now and later when we sell. We might be interested in adding a wood stove, maybe off in the corner of the room instead and I wonder if that would bring the value back. I guess it would also be nice to have a backup heating source in case of power outage or issue with our baseboard boiler.

Thanks for hearing my woes! What would you do?

 

[EatenByLimestone]

Any pics of the crown itself?

 

[Pixelchippy]

Any pics of the crown itself?

Sorry not yet, but I'm trying to get some from the inspector. I know the concrete is poured around the flue tiles without a gasket and has at least one big crack.

 

[stoveliker]

I would demo the whole thing and use class A all the way.
Better performance, less maintenance, lower cost.

Whether to chase it in or not is dependent on what you (r wife) likes to see. It is not needed but may be slightly better for performance given that you can get cold there.

 

[Pixelchippy]

I would demo the whole thing and use class A all the way.
Better performance, less maintenance, lower cost.

Whether to chase it in or not is dependent on what you (r wife) likes to see. It is not needed but may be slightly better for performance given that you can get cold there.

That's great to hear! Thank you!

 

[bholler]

That's great to hear! Thank you!

I agree with the condition of your chimney it makes the most sense to demo and replace with a class A chimney. Probably switch the water heater to an on demand condensing unit