We are in the process of building a new home and our General Contractor
has run away with our money. We are trying to move the construction
forward ourselves and have run into a snag. In addition to being a
thief, he was apparently incompetent. He built a chimney for the
fireplace and per code, made it 4 ft. higher than the house but forgot
to flash. I am hiring a new roofer and a mason and they are telling me
that the chimney above the roof line needs to be cut and then re-built
in order to be properly flashed. Is that true? Can anything else be
done? THe CHimney runs along the back of the house and meets the house
in the middle of a reverse gable. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

needhelp wrote:
We are in the process of building a new home and our General Contractor
has run away with our money. We are trying to move the construction
forward ourselves and have run into a snag. In addition to being a
thief, he was apparently incompetent. He built a chimney for the
fireplace and per code, made it 4 ft. higher than the house but forgot
to flash. I am hiring a new roofer and a mason and they are telling me
that the chimney above the roof line needs to be cut and then re-built
in order to be properly flashed. Is that true? Can anything else be
done? THe CHimney runs along the back of the house and meets the house
in the middle of a reverse gable. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Picture(s)?

The first thing I would try to understand is if the problem is in the
construction of the chimney, its placement, or both.

There are situations were it's difficult to properly flash a masonry
chimney (I'm assuming it's brick, as you mention a mason) - for
example in or near a valley, and where the roofer might have to build a
more-or-less complicated "cricket" or other structure to divert water
around it, or install fairly extensive flashings to prevent water
entry, or both,

http://www.vanguardroofing.net/uploads/copper6.jpg

and a homeowner might decide that long term it's best to just relocate
the chimney (not often though, as that's usually an expensive
undertaking).

But I would want to understand how things are improved by simply
rebuilding it in it's existing location - not that this might not be
necessary, but it's a bit unusual.

Michael Thomas
Paragon Home Inspection LLC, Chicago IL
mdtATparagoninspectsDOTcom