Removing old chimneys and patching the roof in Vancouver, WA

Many older homes have a brick chimney that has not held a fire in decades. The furnace went to a sealed vent, the fireplace got a gas insert or was closed off, and the chimney just sits there. Meanwhile, its mortar keeps eroding, its crown cracks, and the flashing where it meets the roof gets older every winter. A chimney that does nothing still needs maintenance, and it is one of the most common leak sources on older roofs.

Removing it below the roofline takes that maintenance off the list. We take the chimney down brick by brick to below the roof deck or into the attic, cap what remains, then frame across the opening, add new decking and underlayment, and shingle it in to match the roof. From the street, the chimney simply is not there anymore, and the roof has one less spot to leak.

When removing a chimney makes sense

Removal is worth thinking about when the chimney no longer vents anything and is costing you money. Common signs are a cracked crown, spalling bricks, loose mortar, a leaning stack or flashing that has been patched over and over. Rebuilding the top of a chimney and reflashing it can cost nearly as much as taking it down, and the repaired chimney still needs care down the road. Taking it down ends that cycle.

Removal is also common during a reroof. With the old shingles off, taking down a chimney and decking over the hole fits right into the job, and the new roof goes on with no chimney flashing at all. Some homeowners keep the lower part of the chimney inside the house as an exposed brick wall, while removing the part above the attic and roof. That keeps the look inside and ends the leaks outside.

What the job includes

We plan the job before the first brick comes down. That includes checking for any flue still in use, protecting the roof and yard from falling debris, and deciding how far down to take the masonry. Most removals stop just below the roof deck, inside the attic, though some go down to the ceiling or further if the homeowner wants the space back. We lower brick in buckets or down a chute, never by tossing it off the roof.

• Checking for active flues and venting
• Hand removal of brick to below the roof deck
• Capping the remaining masonry inside the attic
• Framing and new decking across the opening
• Underlayment and shingles woven into the roof
• Hauling away brick, mortar and old flashing

If a furnace or water heater still uses it

Many chimneys that look unused still carry an exhaust flue for a gas furnace or water heater. You cannot just remove that chimney and cover the hole. The appliance needs a new vent path, usually a metal vent pipe through the roof with its own flashing and cap, or a sidewall vent if the appliance is replaced with a sealed, high-efficiency unit. That venting work has to be done correctly for safety.

We check for active flues on the first visit by looking in the attic, the basement and at the appliances themselves. If one is still in use, we will tell you plainly and explain the options. In many cases, replacing an aging water heater or furnace with a direct-vent unit at the same time makes the chimney removal much simpler. We coordinate the timing so the house is never without heat or hot water for long.

Matching the patch to the roof

The roof patch should be hard to spot. We weave new shingles into the existing courses rather than laying a square patch on top. Older shingles fade, so a perfect color match is not always possible, but placing the patch carefully and blending the edges makes it far less obvious. If a reroof is close, removing the chimney at that time gives a clean result with no patch at all.