I'm writing in the hope folks can help me decide which way to go, or whom to believe, in my current impasse about repairing the chimney on my 1926 bungalow. <br> <br>The chimney clearly needs work -- the mortar is coming out in lots places (in the top half about the roofline), and at least the outside part of some bricks has fallen off too. It also needs work on the crown and caps. Also, the fireplace is not presently usable, as the damper is stuck closed (presumably some mortar or other detritus has fallen on it from the inside). Using the fireplace is not critical to me, but it would be nice to be able to put in a gas log. <br> <br>Last fall I got an estimate from a tuckpointer who proposed doing all work for $2000, which felt like a lot. I waited until this spring to get more estimates, and got a $1400 estimate for the exterior work (plus cleaning and putting some kind of waterproofing on the brick). But then I got two more people out, one from a chimney place and one mason, who said the chimney was damaged beyond what tuckpointing could fix -- that it really needed to be rebuilt, either to the roofline or at least the top half. They pointed out to me, among other things, that the crown was never done properly -- it's made of bricks rather than concrete. I was told that if I rebuild the chimney it will be good for 75 years, whereas any new mortar I try to put in on the existing chimney will pop out in a year or two, since according to one of them the inner mortar will have been damaged from leakage from the crown and is "like sand." Meanwhile, my handyman says he doesn't think the chimney looks bad and that he could remortar it for a few hundred dollars. <br> <br>The big problem, in addition to the thousands of dollars rebuilding the chimney would cost, is that it is the central visual element on the bungalow, sort of a tudor/cottage style design element -- it's quite wide and made of decorative multicolored "raked" brick that isn't manufactured anymore -- and it faces the street rather than the side of the house. I know that redoing it with new brick that doesn't quite match wouldn't be acceptable to me, so I'd either have to have the workers clean and reuse the old brick (at increased cost!) or see if I can find "new old brick" through some historical source -- I did find one place that might be able to locate it for me. <br> <br>Can anyone offer an informed perspective on this dilemma? I want to do the right thing by my house, but I don't have unlimited funds for this. I don't know how to sort out who's right and who's wrong about what is reasonable to do -- especially since there seems to be a conspicuous lack of restoration ethos in my city. And, as a single woman/nervous new homeowner, I always worry that some of these estimators are trying to take advantage of me. <br> <br>chimney image <br>http://fp.uni.edu/myles/images/porch.jpg <br> <br>

Rebuild it. It is the only way to go. <br>Don't waste your money patching something that big and heavy that could fall on your house. -Yes it is the most expensive option, but you won't have to redo it again in a few years like repointing. <br>Reuse as many of the original bricks as you can. New bricks will be "pretty close" but in my experience never close enough. <br>My mortar was also "like sand" and no amount of repointing could fix it. <br> <br>

I agree with Sedonia about the independent inspection. Looking at your attached photo, it appears the top portion of your chimney has already been rebuilt with different brick. Odds are pretty good that this rebuild was done improperly. <br> <br>

I know nothing about chimneys, butI would tend to believe the chimney and masonry experts. On the other hand, of course the tuckpointer is going to tell you it needs tuckpointing, and the chimney builder is going to tell you it needs rebuit. You might want to get a second opinion from another chimney expert, or maybe even a home inspector. In any case, I would be reluctant to just go with the handyman's assessment that it doesn't "look that bad". <br> <br>I agree with you that the chimney is a focal point of the house. I would definitely reuse the bricks if you become convinced that it needs to be rebuilt. <br> <br>

My first really great shock as a first-time homeowner (of a 1914 bungalow in Sacramento) was the day I came home from the store to find most of it lying a few inches from my neighbors window. My neighbor on the other side (who lives in a two-story victorian) had actually been looking out his window as the wind gusted and it started to topple. Luckily the bricks did not land on anything but the ground. In additon to the loss of the chimney itself, it did punch a big hole in the roof and cracked a number of walls. <br>I have a new chimney and put the old bricks to use in the garden. <br>Sharon <br> <br>PS I also have the wood burning stove installed by the previous owner; after a few half-hearted uses it has lain unused because it is just no fun looking at flames encased in glass. I would rather pull it out and not use it at all if necessary; at least I would have a few moe feet of space and could set some candles in it. <br> <br>