Chimney Rebuild in Readington and Hunterdon County

Most old farmhouse chimneys can be saved at least in part, and only the failed section has to come down. A stack that is plumb, with stone or brick that rings solid, usually calls for repointing and a crown. The picture changes when walls have bulged, when stones or bricks move by hand, or when water has washed mortar out of the core so the wall has become two loose faces. A chimney like that can stand for years and then let go in a storm, particularly the section above the roof.

The inspection looks at it from the roof when that can be done safely, from the firebox and from the attic if it can be reached. A chimney that leans from the base raises a different question, about what it stands on, and that gets answered before anyone stacks new masonry on top. You will get photographs and a plain account of which courses are sound. If only the top few feet have failed, that is what gets relaid, and a partial rebuild keeps the original work below it in service.

Rebuilding means taking the masonry down to a sound course, cleaning what can be reused and laying it back up with mortar that suits it. On a stone stack, each face stone is set aside so the chimney goes back with its own material, and new stone is brought in only where old pieces have split. On brick, sound units can often be cleaned for reuse. The flue goes back at the same time, as new clay tile or with a liner run inside, and the top gets a new crown with a slope and a drip edge.

Flashing is cut into the new joints as the stack rises through the roof, so a rebuild is a good moment to line up any roofing work. Mortar and weather are tied together here, as with any masonry. A January rebuild on the high ground of Lebanon Township is a bad idea, because mortar needs mild days to set, so these jobs are best planned between spring and late fall. If the stack is failing fast and winter is close, ask about what can be done to hold it safely until then, and keep the fireplace or stove out of use if the flue is in doubt.

It may, and the place to start is the town, since the rules differ from one to the next. In Flemington, the borough's Historic Preservation Commission enforces the preservation ordinance and reviews work in its district, which holds more than half of the borough's parcels. Readington's own commission advises on alterations to historic buildings across the township's villages. Other towns have districts on the National Register, among them Clinton, Oldwick, Stanton and Ringoes, and a call to the municipal office settles what applies to a given address.

A rebuild that puts the same stack back in the same materials raises fewer questions than a change in height, shape or stone, but the question should still be asked before work is scheduled. Reused material and matching mortar help on any old house. The National Park Service's guidance on repointing says new mortar should be softer and more vapor permeable than the old masonry, which is a sound rule for a rebuilt stack as well. The crew will write out what it proposes, so you have something to bring to the commission or the building department.

New Jersey's residential code asks for at least 3 feet above the point where a chimney passes through the roof and at least 2 feet above anything in the building within 10 feet. Farmhouses often grew by an addition or two, and a roofline raised beside an old stack can leave it short, so a rebuild is a good time to measure. A chimney below that height can draft poorly as well, which may explain years of smoke trouble at the fireplace.

Width counts too. A stack more than 30 inches across, measured along the ridge and not meeting it, calls for a cricket behind it under the same code, and that small peaked piece of roof keeps water and leaves from building up on the uphill side. Wide farmhouse stacks often qualify. The code's rule of 2 inches of airspace from combustibles matters on a chimney built tight against old framing, and that framing is one more thing to look at once the masonry is open. How each of these applies to rebuilding an older chimney is for the town to say, so check with the town building department about permits before work begins.

A chimney with nothing connected to it can be repaired and capped, rebuilt for looks, or taken down below the roofline, and the choice depends on what you want from it. Many houses that moved from oil to a heat pump or a condensing boiler now have a stack that carries nothing. It still takes weather, though, and an idle chimney with a failing top can let water into the house as easily as a working one. In a house where the stack is part of what makes it look right, repairing the visible section may be worth it even with no flue in use.

Make sure nothing is using it first, since a water heater in the basement is easy to forget. Taking a chimney down also leaves the roof to be closed, so a roofer usually takes part. AMG gives a free estimate on rebuild work across Readington, Tewksbury, East Amwell and the rest of Hunterdon County, and it is veteran owned, with its license and insurance held under NJ HIC 13VH13654300. Chimney cleaning comes first in most cases, because a clean flue shows what the outside of the stack cannot, and any smaller fix falls under chimney repair.