This NE Portland chimney was cracked and broken, and in dire need of a rebuild. This being a rental property, the homeowner opted to remove the chimney, and patch the stucco siding to match for a clean finish. Here we see the chimney before demo.
Upon demo, we discovered a gas burning furnace in the crawlspace of the home. This furnace was installed with out a proper gas venting chimney liner. The contractor who installed the furnace did not pull a mechanical inspection or the inspector did not know what he was looking at at the time of inspection. This is why our homeowner had damage to the fireplace surround and wall. With no chimney liner the moisture rich emissions of the gas furnace are absorbing into the masonry and causing sulfuric acid decay. This basically means the masonry is rotting from the interior. It is causing all the plaster/stucco on the interior fireplace surround to crack and crumble apart. Most people probably thought the near by window was leaking and caused the damage. I can see where a dry wall patch was recently performed. new repair is damaged from the furnace emissions saturating through the wall. Again from the furnace not having the proper venting liner.
To correctly vent this, we supplied and installed new 4”x 15’ b-vent Chimney to code height for gas on the exterior of the home to properly vent this gas furnace. All while still finishing our original plan of removing the chimney and patching with stucco siding to match the existing on the rest of the home.
Matching paint to come. The dangers of improper venting such as this are carbon monoxide exhaust gas to escape into the wall and possibly your living spaces. Carbon monoxide is colorless, odorless… and also toxic and highly combustible. Projects such as this are why we urge homeowners to only trust the very best with their homes.
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