On Mon, 29 Jul 2013 19:25:46 -0700 (PDT), wrote:

Other than aesthetics, what other problems do you have with the chimney?


I see the following problems:
1. cracking of chimney mortar cap
2. brick pointing is missing
3. several bricks have spalled along the facade.

The chimney sweeps said that the "chimney saver" clear coat will help to stop the brick spalling. I am assuming that I need something on the chimney cap to prevent further cracking. Am I missing anything??

I didn't think I saw a big chip coming out of one brick. I don't
want to reload the photos now, unless you give me more reason to.

In 1957 we bought a house that was built after 1950, I think. First
litle chips came out of the brick, in one or two parts of the walls
and the chimney. Then the chips got bigger. My mother talked to
someone who said to "paint" the whole thing with silicone, or silicon,
or silicone-nnnnnnn. It came in gallon cans, not paint cans iirc but
like for turpentine. I did that and I think it helped quite a bit.
It was clear so it was hard to tell where I'd painted and where I
hadn't but I think I did a good job, and I was only 14. Maybe they
make a better product now??

I didn't go above 8 feet, and I think my mother paid to rebuild the
top 8 whatchamaclallits, layers of brick of the chimney. Then she
sold the house in 1966 and I think the new owner rebuilt the chimney
from about 9 feet up. Made it shorter and funny looking too, but who
used it? The only fireplace was in the living room.

We weren't the first owners, but when we still owned it, my mother
eventually found out who the builder was. Even though I"m almost
positive he had no *legal* duty, he had given money to some other
owners whose houses he built with the same bad batch of brick. He
had an appointment to come over to our house and I'm sure he would
have given us some money, but he had a heart attack and died about 4
days before that. Not because of us. It was still generous of
him, given the way most businessmen are, but whatever it took to pay
everyone who asked was not going to change his stanardard of living.