As we prepare for jolly Santa to take a trip down your chimney, I thought it would be a good idea to tell you how to rebuild a chimney that is right for your home!
In this Ocean Cottage renovation, the existing chimney was HUGE, especially compared to the scale of the home. While we were adding square footage and height, it still was far too massive.
We decided to remove the chimney from the roof up and have the mason rebuild it. It sounded easy enough, we take down chimneys all the time now in order to gain space and vent the heating system directly out the basement. It typically takes one guy two days to remove a brick chimney. But, not this chimney! It’s a good thing we were only taking it down from the roof up, the entire thing was poured concrete! It took three men with hammers a week to get it out.
I designed the chimney to scale appropriately with the house, and the height was determined by code. From there, we used the same “cobblestone” veneer as the fireplace in the living room for a finish over cinder blocks. The cap is created out of bluestone to match the patio stone. Repeating materials always creates a stronger design in homes because your eye subconsciously picks up the pattern and it is relaxing when experiencing the space.
If you are planning a new project for the spring and are ready for the design phase, let’s get started right after Santa makes his way down your chimney. Happy Holidays!