Price of Chimney replacement in South Florida

[doorguru]

Newbie member of the forum. Hello everybody!

Help! I think I am being held hostage !

First of all, who needs a fireplace in South Florida ? Well I probably would never have one, but it came with the house. I have lived in this home for 35 years and use it once in a blue moon. I am having a roof replacement done ($ 25, 000).

Because the chimney is leaking, the roofer was initially going to just cut at the bottom and install new flashing, but once he did so, he discovered the wood was rotted. He told me to call chimney experts and get some quotes. I soon discovered there were not many companies here that work on them. I found two companies . So far I have gotten a quote from one, $9,400.00 ! This is to tear it down and rebuild it with stucco siding. Is this insane or should I bite the bullet and surrender to the probability that it is what it is ? Any suggestions ? The rains will soon be here.

The second company is suppose to show up tomorrow. My fingers are crossed. Does anyone know of any chimney contractors in my area?

 

[KDubU]

South FL? I would cap it/seal it and be done but you seem to have other issues. Not sure about what to do as that is not cheap but you don’t want water leaking in.

 

[doorguru]

I would like to save it, but I am considering that. The roofing company would do just that for a reasonable price. The wife wants to save it and is insistent about it. You know how that goes...

 

[EbS-P]

What kind of fireplace is it servicing and how often is it used?

 

[doorguru]

Here is a picture of the fireplace. Used a dozen times is 35 years.

 

[mellow]

With that little of use I would tear out the whole zero clearance fireplace and reclaim the area for something useful. Have them patch the hole in the roof or put in a skylight.

 

[doorguru]

Just an update. I got a friend of a friend to totally rebuild my chimney from the roof up.

Total cost around $3800 including a new SS cover and cap. I did the paint.

The roofer did the bottom flashing which I am not too crazy about. I will probably paint it the same color, along with painting the drip edge brown to match the drip edge on the house.

A little pricey. It probably would have been cheaper if my friend would have kept his mouth shut and not told him that everyone wanted $10,000 !

I am happy with the results. Here is how it came out:

 

[begreen]

The wood on the top seems very close to the chimney pipe. What is the clearance requirement for it? Typically it's 2".

 

[doorguru]

The wood on the top seems very close to the chimney pipe. What is the clearance requirement for it?

I am not sure. I used the same dimension as previous, which showed no heat damage. That outer pipe is not actually the chimney pipe.

 

[doorguru]

Minimum space between shield and combustibles: 21 mm (7/8 in.).

 

[begreen]

I am not sure. I used the same dimension as previous, which showed no heat damage. That outer pipe is not actually the chimney pipe.

Yes, it's old style air cooled chimney pipe.

Minimum space between shield and combustibles: 21 mm (7/8 in.).

Is that for the fireplace or chimney pipe? It looks closer than 7/8" but hard to say without measuring.

 

[doorguru]

I appreciate your concern for my safety.

That dimension is for the outer heat shield spacing to the wood.

The cover is not yet attached permanently, so I pulled it off and measured.

It is right at 7/8 all around, although the picture is misleading.

Now you got me thinking..

Maybe to be safe and piece of mind, I should consider insulating it, with a product such as shown below (?)

Not only will this product insulate the shield, it will keep it from moving closer to the wood by stabilizing it, My old chimney cap clamped to this shield. and slid into the chimney pipe. The new one only slides into the chimney pipe with the shield free standing attached to nothing at the top.

Around $40.00. The circumference of the shield is 39" .

 

[begreen]

I suspected the camera angle was making it hard to see the actual gap. If it is installed per the chimney pipe clearance requirements it should be safe.

 

[doorguru]

Thanks. I still don't like that the shield is free standing and not mechanically secured so I ordered a 1" X 4" X 24" strip of the material which I will wedge on four sides of the shield against the plywood to keep it centered.