Cleaning chimney

[Bill]

Having an extremely steep roof, one you cannot walk on, I am going to try and run the brush from the inside up the chimney. I thought about all the dirt and my wife standing behind me telling me to get rid of the stove. Anyhow I thought maybe I could use a plastic bag, with a small hole in the middle and run the extension rods up and down while catching the creosote.

Is there a better way to do this?

 

[NewtownPA]

Is there a better way to do this?

Yes. You've got to get your wife out of the house some Saturday afternoon and when she's out you can create all the dust you like!

 

[Corie]

Precisely.


Even if you cannot get onto the roof, at some point you will probably have to clean the cap. Maybe you should figure out a way to get up there? Also, the hole in bed trick works ok, you'll still make at least a little mess though.

 

[Andre B.]

Also, the hole in bed trick works ok,

Just what were you doing at that stove show?

 

[Corie]

HOLY SMOKES!


Forgive me on that one.



HOLE IN THE BAG.

 

[hookspacken]

That is exactly how I cleaned my chimney over the winter, with the plastic bag. The only problem was that the draft kept pulling the bag up toward the chimney, you have to keep adjusting it. I did it myself, but it would have been easier with another set of hands.

 

[Hogwildz]

Make yourself some chicken ladders and leave them on the roof. Easy access if your not afraid of heights. Cap is the biggest crap collector, so it will have to be cleaned.

 

[Harley]

What are you running the brush up through? If you are able to get acces from the bottom and run the brush up through (which it seems like you are able to) should be a lot of ways to keep the soot from coming into the house - the bag should work and catch most of the stuff - in your setup, can you tack up a blanket around the opening to keep the dust from coming inside? Maybe even a Shop-Vac would help capture some of the stuff as its falling down. You didn't say, but Hogz brings up a good point about the cap, if you have one there, and likely having the most amount of buildup on it... someone may have to go up there.

 

[Corie]

Ahem, I believe I mentioned the cap first.

Even if you cannot get onto the roof, at some point you will probably have to clean the cap.

 

[BrotherBart]

Ahem, I believe I mentioned the cap first.

Even if you cannot get onto the roof, at some point you will probably have to clean the cap.

Are you still alive? I figured Corrie had seen the previous post and you were dead meat by now.

 

[Harley]

Ahem, I believe I mentioned the cap first.

Even if you cannot get onto the roof, at some point you will probably have to clean the cap.

Sorry, Corie... you did - my mistake :red: , but really wasn't sure if there was one up there.

 

[Tendencies]

Sure that wasn't "Half in the Bag" ?? ;-P lol

T

 

[elkimmeg]

Might I make a suggestion: Use a pole fishing poles or what ever and drop a line and tie a rope to the front of that brush. Should it get stuck you have another out

 

[johnsopi]

Getting the brush stuck makes the whole saving a buck no fun.

 

[restorer]

HOLY SMOKES!


Forgive me on that one.



HOLE IN THE BAG.

Holy nothing on that one. I think I will post this each day of a week to keep it at the top.

 

[Gooserider]

Make yourself some chicken ladders and leave them on the roof. Easy access if your not afraid of heights. Cap is the biggest crap collector, so it will have to be cleaned.

Question Hogz, since I've got basically the same problem of a chimney that is all but unreachable from the top...

How does one attach the chicken ladders to the roof and support them so that they don't damage the roofing and / or cause leaks? I would also be somewhat concerned about them possibly trapping snow in the winter time and causing ice dams?

In our case, I would need at least two ladders, one to get up the roof to the chimney, and then one to get from the roof to the top of the chimney (at least 7' up from the roof to the chimney top)

I am guessing that each would have it's own design and mounting considerations. I do have a nice ladder for going up the roof, not sure if it's long enough to trim a chunk off for the chimney ladder... It's the top half of an aluminum extension ladder, about 20' long. - some guy lost it off his truck on the highway, and I picked it up and took it home on my bike. :coolsmile:

I'm assuming that I would need to make some sort of mounting boards to attach the ladder to, but how do I attach the boards to the asphalt shingled roof? How far off the roof should I get the ladder to keep it from causing ice dams?

Am I correct in thinking that I should only attach the ladder solidly to the support boards on one end, leaving the other end "floating" to allow for thermal expansion/contraction?

What about the ladder on the chimney?

Should I try to get a normal ladder angle, or would that put to much side load on the top of the chimney? (It is a masonry chimney, w/ 8x8 clay liners, double flue, and I'd be going up one of the narrow sides)

Attach the bottom end to the roof and let the top "float" against the side of the chimney? Or the other way around?

When not using it, should I leave the ladder leaning against the chimney, or should I try to make it so the ladder pivots and can lay down on the roof when not in use?

On a separate but related idea, what sort of PPE is needed in this kind of setup? I'm assuming some sort of fall prevention harness is a good idea, but where should it be attached, and how?

Advice appreciated,

Gooserider

 

[Bill]

The reason I enquired about doing the cleaning form the inside, remember I have a 19 foot loft ceiling and the chimney is near the outside wall. So walking on the roof is out of the question, and there is no place to stand. So cleaning from the outside, the ladder would be straight up, and about 4 feet from the chimney. So I thought about getting a trombone pipe and doing my inspections and cleaning from the inside.

For cleaning the cap I might have to unscrew a section of pipe and then take the cap off.