October 3

October 3rd update

All it takes to bring rain is opening up a roof.
This week saw intense work on replacing the attic chimneys.
But thank goodness for tarps.

No one talked a lot about the work
involved in removing all of the
old bricks but taking them from the
attic outside - even if you dropped
them out the window, clearly involved
a lot of work.

Because the bricks had crumbled the
beams which rested against the
chimneys had dropped, some up to
four inches. They had to be jacked
back into place and reinforced.

This was a part of that reinforcing effort. It involved a lot of treated lumber and screws.

Here Pat measures for the faux chimney
which was placed exactly where the
original entered the roof.

This is looking straight up into the interior of one of the faux chimneys.
Built to withstand strong winds, the old chimneys were a disaster
waiting to happen. The mortar had deteriorated to the point
where you could argue whether gravity or inertia was keeping them
in place. Regardless what was holding them up, it was unlikely they
would survive any significant storm.