Had to raise the liner 5" above FV level to accommodate the BMF . . . SO decided to climb up on th' roof (30 degree pitch) to work on the project. Wife, daughter and mother all pressured me to call the "professionals" to do the job. I didn't want to have to have my man card reprinted in pink, so I decided to take care of my own danged business, thank you very much. AND I was somewhat stung by their lack of confidence in my abilities, which they used to have in abundance. Just because I'm 63 doesn't mean I have to pay someone to do EVERYTHING. That day may come, but it wasn't today!
I'll admit that I don't like our 30 degree roof and I do NOT like working at heights, BUT, a man's got t'do what a man's got t'do, so I gathered all my stuff, put the ladder up against the house, hauled another ladder up to the chimney, ('cause it stands up about 7 feet on the short side--top height of chimney? 54 feet!), and up I went. Removed all the top assembly, hauled on the SS mesh trying to get the liner to raise, but no luck. Decided to climb onto the top of the chimney so I could stand up and pull on it, but DO NOT like heights (the flat part is 2 by 3 feet) and decided that the 50 mph west wind (gusts to 64 in town, I later found out) whipping over the gable made me a wee bit uncomfortable, so that approach was scrubbed. (It was a great day, full sun, temp in mid 70s and just perfect, 'cept for th' wind!) FINALLY, after a couple of hours and several unproductive attempts, I found a hold that worked, got the liner raised and secured. Then had to cut the mesh, cut off the insulation, go down and buff all the silicone off the collar inside and out, back up to replace the original stove pipe, secure the collar to the liner pipe, cut the liner pipe off to the level of the top of the collar with tin snips (not as easy as I thought), applied high temp silicone to seal the gap between the collar and the liner pipe, at every step and for the entire duration, I had flue soot swirling in my face every time I touched the pipe and most of the time when I didn't. Remember the 50+ mph wind? I was upwind within 12" which caused the soot to collect right in my face area! Seemed like 10,000 gnats! It got in everything and stuck to everything it could get into and/or stick to for the entire 4 plus hours of this deal. Finally got it sealed to my satisfaction, re-installed the top housing, did a tool roll call and prepared to dismount. Called Lynda to come out and secure the bottom of the ladder so I could descend. Being hit by the cuss-ed wind, CAREFULLY worked my way down about 30 feet of 30 degree roof carrying the second ladder, praying and sweating all the way! Got to the edge, lowered the second ladder to the ground by rope, descended the ladder and reached the ground safely. If I had fallen off, I would have landed on the concrete patio, which made this all a LOT more interesting!
Forgot to mention that about an hour from the end of the roof work, Lynda started making cornbread in prep for our "black-eyed peas and cornbread at New Years for good luck" supper. Did you know that a chimney will draft even with no top assembly in place? And there were no windows open on our house either. Do you know how difficult it is to focus on doing the job while being 50 feet in the air in 50+ mph winds with the smell of baking cornbread wafting up the flue? I didn't either, especially since I hadn't had anything to eat for the past 7 hours! But I will say that it's also a super way to communicate with Lynda helping from the FP end. She was great help, plus she makes the world's BEST cornbread!
So, the bottom line is that the only deal-breaking obstacle of this project has been overcome. The real problem is that our stove pipe is not straight. It goes up for about 4 feet, makes a swing to the west of about 18 inches (for some unknown reason) and then proceeds straight to the top of the chimney. I was NOT confident that I could raise the liner due to this turn and the weight of the liner, which is something over 60 pounds and stuck into an 8" double walled stove pipe, that isn't straight.
One painful effect of the roof pitch is that I normally wear a size 12 shoe. When I come off the roof after half a dozen trips, my feet feel like they been compressed to a size 9! I hate it when that happens!
BTW, I did take photos, which I'll try to get posted in the next day or two.
So, here I am at 2010 on 12/31/11. Mission accomplished, wife, mother and daughter (an MP in Afghanistan) penitent and apologetic, showered, finished a plate of the best black-eyed peas and cornbread known to man, muscles a bit tired, but not bad AND my man card is still printed in bold black! It doesn't get much better than that, if y'know what I mean!
Happy New Year to all y'all. I've appreciated the friendship. Y'all b'have now, y'hear? All th' best in th' year t'come!
May th' best you've ever seen, be th' worst you'll ever see!
May th' mouse ne'er lee your girnal wi' a tear drap in 'is e'e!
May your lum kep blithely reekin' 'til ye're auld eno' t' dee.
May y'aye be just as happy, as I wish y'now t'be!
--A Scots Toast
I'll admit that I don't like our 30 degree roof and I do NOT like working at heights, BUT, a man's got t'do what a man's got t'do, so I gathered all my stuff, put the ladder up against the house, hauled another ladder up to the chimney, ('cause it stands up about 7 feet on the short side--top height of chimney? 54 feet!), and up I went. Removed all the top assembly, hauled on the SS mesh trying to get the liner to raise, but no luck. Decided to climb onto the top of the chimney so I could stand up and pull on it, but DO NOT like heights (the flat part is 2 by 3 feet) and decided that the 50 mph west wind (gusts to 64 in town, I later found out) whipping over the gable made me a wee bit uncomfortable, so that approach was scrubbed. (It was a great day, full sun, temp in mid 70s and just perfect, 'cept for th' wind!) FINALLY, after a couple of hours and several unproductive attempts, I found a hold that worked, got the liner raised and secured. Then had to cut the mesh, cut off the insulation, go down and buff all the silicone off the collar inside and out, back up to replace the original stove pipe, secure the collar to the liner pipe, cut the liner pipe off to the level of the top of the collar with tin snips (not as easy as I thought), applied high temp silicone to seal the gap between the collar and the liner pipe, at every step and for the entire duration, I had flue soot swirling in my face every time I touched the pipe and most of the time when I didn't. Remember the 50+ mph wind? I was upwind within 12" which caused the soot to collect right in my face area! Seemed like 10,000 gnats! It got in everything and stuck to everything it could get into and/or stick to for the entire 4 plus hours of this deal. Finally got it sealed to my satisfaction, re-installed the top housing, did a tool roll call and prepared to dismount. Called Lynda to come out and secure the bottom of the ladder so I could descend. Being hit by the cuss-ed wind, CAREFULLY worked my way down about 30 feet of 30 degree roof carrying the second ladder, praying and sweating all the way! Got to the edge, lowered the second ladder to the ground by rope, descended the ladder and reached the ground safely. If I had fallen off, I would have landed on the concrete patio, which made this all a LOT more interesting!
Forgot to mention that about an hour from the end of the roof work, Lynda started making cornbread in prep for our "black-eyed peas and cornbread at New Years for good luck" supper. Did you know that a chimney will draft even with no top assembly in place? And there were no windows open on our house either. Do you know how difficult it is to focus on doing the job while being 50 feet in the air in 50+ mph winds with the smell of baking cornbread wafting up the flue? I didn't either, especially since I hadn't had anything to eat for the past 7 hours! But I will say that it's also a super way to communicate with Lynda helping from the FP end. She was great help, plus she makes the world's BEST cornbread!
So, the bottom line is that the only deal-breaking obstacle of this project has been overcome. The real problem is that our stove pipe is not straight. It goes up for about 4 feet, makes a swing to the west of about 18 inches (for some unknown reason) and then proceeds straight to the top of the chimney. I was NOT confident that I could raise the liner due to this turn and the weight of the liner, which is something over 60 pounds and stuck into an 8" double walled stove pipe, that isn't straight.
One painful effect of the roof pitch is that I normally wear a size 12 shoe. When I come off the roof after half a dozen trips, my feet feel like they been compressed to a size 9! I hate it when that happens!
BTW, I did take photos, which I'll try to get posted in the next day or two.
So, here I am at 2010 on 12/31/11. Mission accomplished, wife, mother and daughter (an MP in Afghanistan) penitent and apologetic, showered, finished a plate of the best black-eyed peas and cornbread known to man, muscles a bit tired, but not bad AND my man card is still printed in bold black! It doesn't get much better than that, if y'know what I mean!
Happy New Year to all y'all. I've appreciated the friendship. Y'all b'have now, y'hear? All th' best in th' year t'come!
May th' best you've ever seen, be th' worst you'll ever see!
May th' mouse ne'er lee your girnal wi' a tear drap in 'is e'e!
May your lum kep blithely reekin' 'til ye're auld eno' t' dee.
May y'aye be just as happy, as I wish y'now t'be!
--A Scots Toast
