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Had a real scare with a leaning chimney stack last Tuesday
I was repointing an old brick chimney in a 1920s house in Springfield. About halfway up, I noticed the whole stack had a slight lean that wasn't obvious from the ground. When I tapped the mortar, a whole section on the back side just crumbled away. I stopped everything, got down, and used a laser level to confirm it was leaning almost 2 inches off plumb. We had to set up a temporary brace with some 2x4s before we could safely take it down and rebuild it properly. Has anyone else run into a hidden lean like that on an old chimney?
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beth_sanchez6mo ago
Glad you caught it. Old chimneys are sneaky like that. I had one last year that looked fine until we stripped the ivy off. Found a crack running all the way down the back, totally hidden. It's why I poke everything with a screwdriver now before I even get the ladder out. You just never know what's behind a few layers of old paint or some vines. Good call on the laser level and the temporary brace.
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jessefoster6mo ago
That sounds super sketchy, glad you spotted it in time. Those old hidden leans can turn a simple job into a disaster real quick. Smart move with the laser and the brace, man.
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anthony_wells4mo ago
Yeah pretty sure that was a level, not a laser level. Still a solid call though, a regular level would do the job just fine on that chimney.
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