It's been a busy couple of weeks. I am used to unexpected new problems cropping up. It is not unusual to discover new problems while fixing other problems. This issue was totally unexpected and unrelated to any of the other work that I've been after. The seal on the main waste pipe going out of the house failed and we had some water on the basement floor. This is an old school lead and oakum seal that finally failed and was now leaking. We we're able to resolve it with the help of a plumber - this one I wasn't qualified to handle myself. The bulk head was cut off and clean fittings we're added.
Plumbing aside, we have come to the conclusion that this chimney be removed. We considered using it to vent the pellet stove that we are planning on installing upstairs, but the clay lining has a huge crack and at the end of it, we felt that it was no longer useful and in the way. It used to vent the oil burning furnace that was located in this space, but that is no longer how we will heat this house.
Here is the same chimney. This was hidden behind the firewall for the wood stove. We later discovered that the hole that we would have use to vent the pellet stove had an impossible crack. We now wish to reclaim this space. There is also some black mold and water damage around where the chimney goes through the ceiling, which means the flashing was letting in moisture. So, the idea of having more space and sealing up the roof from moisture penetration is all very appealing to us.
Here are the chimneys protruding from the roof.
Prior to the chimney shenanigans continued progress on the floor. I felt good about the work that was done on the foundation and so I began rebuilding the sub floor. There we're 3 layers of sub floor which seemed to have been applied at different times. Removing those layers and laying down fresh sheets of 3/4 " sub flooring proved to be the way to go, and will act as the first layer of sub floor. With the joists beneath reinforced and new sub flooring applied, the floor is very strong and resilient, no bounce. And it is level.
One row completed, 5 sheets of plywood. It will take 6 more to finish the area from where this shot was taken.
The kids are inspired and are trying to make a brick oven in the forest.
Back to the chimney work. Yours truly shot by Aiden. This is where the cinder block chimney once stood. Together with my friends Jim and Dan we we're able to take it down and haul it away one chunk at a time. Now the object is to get the deck clean so that new foam insulation and roofing can be applied. The work is a little tedious removing old tar and flashing. It was as tedious as cutting and fitting the patch that closed the holes from the inside, I'll tell ya that.
With both chimneys gone I am now in a race to redeck from the inside and apply a patch to the outside that meets the thickness of the rest of the roof and get new roofing on - before it starts raining!
