QUESTION: Are there any special tools or techniques for getting this job done? I have heard of a brick hook that can be attached, and that holds tight when you pull on it, which could be used to grab, wiggle and retrieve the bricks out the chimney top.
BACKGROUND: I have a chimney stack that is 2x3 bricks in size, dead straight, with a brick wythe down the middle (stack bond - [bricks on their side]).
Front flue goes to a Rumford, back flue to the basement gas fired boiler.
Inside chimney stack dimension WITHOUT divider is nominally 8x16
To ensure maximize draft, I must optimize liner size to the Rumford, which means going with a squarized 8" ridgid liner, that will come in at 7.5" square, with rounded corners.
I plan to do the same to the back flue, as eventually the gas boiler will be removed and replaced first with a stove in the basement and possibly later, another Rumford on the first floor.
THEREFORE, I need TWO SS liners, and so the divider has to be removed down to the top of my 1st floor smoke chamber (at least).
Past that, I could reduce pipe diameter to 6" or 7" round to boiler.
SO... I removed as many divider bricks by hand as possible and knocked some more out with a 5lb sledge hammer mounted to a 2x10, letting them fall into a specially made wooden bucket. That bucket got stuck for about 10 minutes on the boiler side, giving me pause to continue.
Then, I went and rebuilt the chimney...
I'm afraid if I just hit the bricks and let them drop, they will lodge in flue.
And back to the headline...
QUESTION: Are there any special tools or techniques for getting this job done? I have heard of a brick hook that can be attached, and that holds tight when you pull on it, which could be used to grab, wiggle and retrieve the bricks out the top.
Thanks in advance...
BACKGROUND: I have a chimney stack that is 2x3 bricks in size, dead straight, with a brick wythe down the middle (stack bond - [bricks on their side]).
Front flue goes to a Rumford, back flue to the basement gas fired boiler.
Inside chimney stack dimension WITHOUT divider is nominally 8x16
To ensure maximize draft, I must optimize liner size to the Rumford, which means going with a squarized 8" ridgid liner, that will come in at 7.5" square, with rounded corners.
I plan to do the same to the back flue, as eventually the gas boiler will be removed and replaced first with a stove in the basement and possibly later, another Rumford on the first floor.
THEREFORE, I need TWO SS liners, and so the divider has to be removed down to the top of my 1st floor smoke chamber (at least).
Past that, I could reduce pipe diameter to 6" or 7" round to boiler.
SO... I removed as many divider bricks by hand as possible and knocked some more out with a 5lb sledge hammer mounted to a 2x10, letting them fall into a specially made wooden bucket. That bucket got stuck for about 10 minutes on the boiler side, giving me pause to continue.
Then, I went and rebuilt the chimney...
I'm afraid if I just hit the bricks and let them drop, they will lodge in flue.
And back to the headline...
QUESTION: Are there any special tools or techniques for getting this job done? I have heard of a brick hook that can be attached, and that holds tight when you pull on it, which could be used to grab, wiggle and retrieve the bricks out the top.
Thanks in advance...
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