Chimney rebuild after a failed stucco "repair"

The original chimney had been "repaired" with a stucco coat. I say "repaired" (with quotes) because stucco over loose and damaged brick and mortar is really not a repair. We could call it a bandaid...maybe.

Up close you can see what the coat was hiding. Mortar joints washed out to nothing, brick you could move with your hand, a cracked cap, and metal strapping screwed around the stack to keep it all together. The stucco itself was cracked and letting go in sheets at the bottom. They always do.

We removed the old chimney down to the roof line without disturbing the metal exhaust pipe, tarped the shingles so the demolition did not cost the customer a roof, and cleaned the debris off it.

The new chimney went back up in brick with a recessed panel on the face and a fresh cap and flashing. A little more personality than the one that came down.