Expert: James Ball - 7/25/2009

Question
from the roofline up, how much should it cost to replace a 120 brick chimney?  Today I called on an advertiser from Valpack to clean my chimney for $29.99 because it seemed like a good deal. I have a 100 year old house that I bought as a "fixer upper" 10 years ago in New Jersey, and I have NEVER had a single leak or problem with my chimney. I had my chimney cleaned last year, and nobody said I needed a new chimney....The guy cleaned my gutters (for $50), but said I needed to "knock down" my chimney and get a new one, which he could do for $2000. He told me I have a 120 brick chimney. Even at $2 per brick, that's $240, plus you figure $200 for mortar, and maybe an extra $60 for cememnt... That's about $500... Should it REALLY cost $2000? Is $1500 reasonable for the "work"? How many hours should it take to do this job properly? I mean, is this a "bait and switch"? Are they charging me more because I am a girl? In this economy, do I really need to do anything?  I would really appreciate ANY help from you might be able to offer...

Answer
Hello Carrie, not sure what a "120 Brick Chimney" is, or what it would cost to rebuild a chimney like yours (with out seeing it)your chimney may need to be rebuilt but I would have a local Certified Chimney Sweep (www.csia.org, there you can look up by zip code to find one near you) take a first hand look at what you have they should be able to help and tell you if you really do need this work (a 100 year old will need work on a chimney "fixer upper"), remember you are building fires and or using it for the heating/hot water venting Carbon Monoxide).
Hope this helps
James