I had the local Chimney Sweep come out to the house and check out the fireplaces and chimneys in the house to be sure they were safe to use and make any needed repairs if they needed attention. When looking at the house before buying, it was thought that the two large tall chimneys in the old part of the house were the original rough granite rock chimneys built in 1859 which had been faced with modern brick in the past 20-40 years. It was also thought that in the 2nd floor bedrooms the original open fireplaces had been blocked off, a thimble (round opening for a stove pipe) install in the flue above the fireplace, and the fireplace wall covered over with a sheetrock wall leaving only the thimble opening. This all turns out not to be true - a very beneficial not true. My neighbor Allen Green told me just the day before Rodney the chimney sweep came by that the two brick chimneys were new modern chimneys and fireplaces built about 30 years ago on the original rock bases of the old chimneys and the flues on the 2nd floor were just that - only flues and thimbles for stoves - no old fireplaces behind the walls. This was all confirmed by Rodney's inspections. This means that in the old part of the house there are only 2 fireplaces - not 4 as originally thought, but they are new modern brick terra cotta tile lined chimneys and in excellent condition. The 2 flues in the 2nd floor bedrooms have never been used. There is not a bit of soot in the liners and are ready for wood stoves to be attached. Despite not having actual fireplaces in the upstairs bedrooms, having modern fireplaces, chimneys and flues saves the likely expense to repair old mortar in original rock chimneys and the expense of having an old rock chimney lined with clay or steel pipe to make it safe to use.
The fireplace and chimney in the 1905 addition IS the original old rock cooking fireplace of the detached kitchen building and dates back to the original construction of the home in 1859. The fireplace, which has been blocked off can be re-opened. This chimney has 2 flues - one for the fireplace on the family room side and one on the kitchen side for a wood burning cook stove. Both of these flues are stainless steel pipe lined and are ready for use.
Interestingly a previous owner, despite having spent a considerable sum of money to have two chimneys and fireplaces built the job was not complete - there were no screened caps on the tops of the new chimneys so birds and squirrels had nested in the chimneys in the past and water dripped down the flues when it rained. I had the tops of the chimneys mortared around the tile flue pipes with a slope to shed rain water and had stainless steel screened caps added to keep critters and water from entering the chimneys.
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| West side chimney with new cap |
The old kitchen chimney had both its flues lined with 6" stainless steel pipe, but the brick top of the chimney needed to be 'tuck pointed', meaning the old cracked and failing mortar between the bricks had to be ground and chiseled out and new mortar put in. Additionally the base of the chimney at the tin roof needed to be re-flashed and sealed to prevent water leaking in.
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| Kitchen chimney repaired and ready to use |
Seasoned firewood for sale is not easy to find. There is plenty of green wood available, which is how most people buy their firewood - well in advance and set aside to season a year or more before burning. I found a good man with seasoned wood for sale and bought a "load" (a pick-up truck full). I will likely need another load of seasoned wood for this winter season and plan to buy 2 loads of green wood now for next winter's heating season. Raymond Jones is his name and he drove 20 miles from his place to bring the wood. He fell in love with our little homestead here and we walked around a good bit admiring the house and the beautiful oak trees I have on the property. I showed him the wood floors in the house and we all - Raymond, Kenny, Billy (Raymond's helper) and I - gathered around the bed of the pick-up truck and chatted for a spell. Men gathered around the bed of a truck, arms folded on the edge of the bed, maybe one foot up in the rim of a wheel like a foot on the railing at a bar - is a scene that you will see every day. Raymond would not only not take a little extra for the load to cover the extra long drive, he wouldn't even take the full quoted price for the load and told me he'd bring me some extra next time he delivered. I expect Raymond and Billy will be back time to time for a some talkin' round the bed of his truck and maybe a barbecue or two. Just love the people here.
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| a "load" of seasoned oak firewood - about 1/3 of a full cord |
So in celebration of the clean bill of health for the fireplaces from Rodney and the good seasoned wood from Raymond we built our first fire in the "parlor" fireplace.
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| aahhhh - nothing like a good fire...... |
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