Pictures of how not to build a chimney.

jmont64 · Canadian Poncho Superstar!

Pictures of how not to build a chimney.

66 Grande guy · Canadian Poncho Superstar!

Pretty scary alright but at least you got exercise! I get mine my having to redo my own shoddy work! I just finished resurfacing our huge deck having to rip up most of the subfloor (treated 3/4 inch plywood pieces screwed with a million screws!) and rebuild from that due to leaving the old vinyl weather for a couple of seasons too long. At least the treated joists were still OK. Good exercise too but I was in a mad hurry yesterday as it was the last of the good weather will be have for a while (like 7 months!) Feel it today.

cdnpont · Canadian Poncho Superstar!

It's a good thing you actually care enough to make it right Jerel. Had that fallen, it would have been a disaster if not fatal to someone.

jmont64 · Canadian Poncho Superstar!

cdnpont wrote:
It's a good thing you actually care enough to make it right Jerel. Had that fallen, it would have been a disaster if not fatal to someone.

Yeah when I saw how much it had widened my first thought was what were the consequences if it went over. No need to cause a tourist attraction like the leaning chimney of Pisa.

Lemans64 · Poncho Master!

Not really sure what people are thinking when they do crap like this. My house was I believe a spec house and according to my Neighbour the contractor
would do a couple of houses at the same time, Get an inspection done then remove the Big O and take it to the next house. 50 year old house now.
No real water issues so not a big deal. But have seen wiring issues in Attic and in shop that makes one think, WTF were they Thinking?? I am sure being
in that trade you would see some interesting stuff.

silver steak · Addicted!

Jerel
I appreciate your effort, but more so I appreciate the responsible character that you demonstrated.
Good on You.

jmont64 · Canadian Poncho Superstar!

Lemans64 wrote:
Not really sure what people are thinking when they do crap like this. My house was I believe a spec house and according to my Neighbour the contractor
would do a couple of houses at the same time, Get an inspection done then remove the Big O and take it to the next house. 50 year old house now.
No real water issues so not a big deal. But have seen wiring issues in Attic and in shop that makes one think, WTF were they Thinking?? I am sure being
in that trade you would see some interesting stuff.

Yeah I wonder Rick if your neighbour might be blowing smoke a little. Big O is so inexpensive that it would surprise me if it was worth his while to move it. Also the biggest part and expense of that type of drainage is the drain rock that surrounds it. Theoretically it could still function as the water would follow the rock but it would depend on how far it went from the edge of your house to the drain pit or if it was piped into the storm drain. In the later years we put perforated pipe in and never had to worry about it getting crushed with backfill or other failures and it became more common to be able to tie into a storm sewer.

I had heard the same type of story here about a spec builder doing that with insulation. After inspection it got pulled and went to his next house. Just about think it might just be a good story as the same thing back then insulation was a very small part of your building cost. Lots of other things that you shake your head at though and people get away with it.

Prefectca · Poncho Master!

A friend of my father prepurchased a home in a new subdivision in the 70s. He had purchased some upgrades as well and stopped to look at the progress being made on his new home. The house was up but nothing inside yet. He was talking to the contractor about hardwood floors and other upgrades and after the conversation ended and the contractor had left he was approached by the electrician. The electrician said that the homes would be wired to minimum code, for a thousand dollars he would wire the house properly. Well he paid the electrician and it was money well spent. His was the only house wired with copper wire, all the others were done with aluminum wiring. He also told me that when he was making new friends in the area that the other home owners didnt have ceiling light fixtures, only a switched outlet on the wall.

Lemans64 · Poncho Master!

Ya not sure on that, but have not found any big O or drainage anywhere around the house. House is on a Hill so not a problem.
all Gutters drained off one end of house, LOL, then into shop gutter, then into ground. Shop was not there originally.

timbuk · Canadian Poncho Superstar!

my neibor renod his house and buried a smoke detector in a wall after time the dead battery buzzer went off they had to blast a hole to get it out true story

long stroke · Canadian Poncho Superstar!

Our home in Milton was built in 2002 and it wasn't until 2008 that I realized that the upstairs wash room vent was venting into the attic. Birds had got into the attic, through a damaged vent screen. I crawled into the attic and went into shock, when I discovered that the flex pipe was never installed by the idiot contractor. It was laying up there un connected. We were fuming to know that for all those years, the venting was going into the attic space. I hate to be negative but I really have an attitude of trusting no ones work. This is only one of the reasons why I do ALL of my own work. It is more so not trusting peoples work than it is the money involved. If I can not do something, then I will learn how to do it.

Pontiacanada · A Poncho Legend!

Scary if that weighty stack decided to topple. How old is the house Jerel? Building was done differently in years past.

Our house is over a 150 years old, so I've found and updated many things through the years.

Last year I replaced all of the cedar posts sitting on sandstone blocks in our clay cellar with steel jackposts on concrete pads. I actually put in more posts spaced closer together than there was. By jacking up sections of the house a little at a time, they were replaced and the main floor of the house leveled (as well as I could), and most of the floor bounce eliminated.

jmont64 · Canadian Poncho Superstar!

House was probably built mid 70s. They were just starting to build foundations under chimneys and fireplaces then. Otherwise I think this one just has a concrete pad poured a little below grade. Might not even have proper frost coverage depth. Ties wouldve at least have kept it safe. That outside corner only had to settle an eighth of an inch to make the chimney lean an inch. All kinds of tradespeople, I could probably write a book.

unruhjonny · Guru

wow!?!
The moment I read that none of that chimney was fastened, my stomach sank...

I whole heartedly agree with the following quote:

silver steak wrote:
Jerel
I appreciate your effort, but more so I appreciate the responsible character that you demonstrated.
Good on You.

jmont64 · Canadian Poncho Superstar!

unruhjonny wrote:
wow!?!
The moment I read that none of that chimney was fastened, my stomach sank...

I whole heartedly agree with the following quote:
silver steak wrote:
Jerel
I appreciate your effort, but more so I appreciate the responsible character that you demonstrated.
Good on You.

Well I really appreciate both of you guys affirmation on going ahead on this project. Am just finishing off some soffit and facia board on it today. Trying to book in the stuccoer before the snow flies.

Lemans64 · Poncho Master!

Well have I got a Job for you, LOL. Good work Jerel.
I come to appreciate a Person that does what they should do, not what they are paid to do, or feel like doing

jmont64 · Canadian Poncho Superstar!

Lemans64 wrote:
Well have I got a Job for you, LOL. Good work Jerel.
I come to appreciate a Person that does what they should do, not what they are paid to do, or feel like doing

Thanks Rick. A neighbor was ribbing me just a couple days ago about the work I was doing and its remuneration. I complained to him that I'm not even getting a free lunch. Have to hope the pay is when you are looking into the mirror and looking at who you are dealing with.

hawkeye5766 · Canadian Poncho Superstar!

I thought that was building code Jerel? Enough room for air space so the walls don't get too hot! biggrin