Old House Reno

[JakeL]

Wife and I bought a house that was built in 1923, we are currently demoing the kitchen and turning it into a dining room.  We found this in the corner, and old chimney but halfway up.  Originally the previous owners had it covered, we knew it was there since the chimney runs through the bedroom up stairs.  We had thought it was a trash burner, but it turns out it does not go all the way to the ground.  @Tom King I am sure you have seen these before, is it for an old wood burning stove?

As for the wood working portion, I don't know the best way to incorporate it into the room, It was suggested to remove the bottom shiplap and build shelving below.  Anybody have any suggestions?  We are going with wainscoating for the walls.

 

 

 

 

Thanks,

Jake

[Tom King]

Either a wood burning heater, or cook stove.   It won't hurt a thing to take it out.   I can't think of any good reason to keep it.   Yes, I've seen similar, and worse.  I know of two separate buildings that had brick chimneys added straight up. only sitting on the ceiling joists, which of course, had sagged tremendously. 

 One was even totally supported, above one ceiling joist that was in the way, so they cut that section out, by two pairs of old, wrought iron barn door hinges that the pintle holes had worn out on.  In that kitchen, there was also a burned spot on the floor under the stove because there was no kind of shield between the bottom of the firebox in the cook stove, and the wooden floor.   Why that building was still standing was a real puzzle.

At least yours is supported by the corner framing, which is a lot stronger than ceiling joists.

Most of the houses I work on are a lot older than that one.

edited to add:   Start at the top, and take it down brick, by brick.  All you need is a hammer, and eye protection.  You don't even have to tap each brick very hard to break the mortar joint.  Try to take it down with whole bricks if you can, and it will be a lot easier to dispose of.   If you get in a hurry, and break the bricks into small pieces, it will take all the time you saved in extra cleanup.

[FlyinFish]

Here's our 1928 one. We had friends tell us it looked "so cool" and that we should keep it, but the galley kitchen is tiny and we needed the cabinet space.

The old mortar is actually very weak and very unsafe if you live where there are earthquakes. The top half I could just pop the bricks out of place with one hand.

It's pretty easy to patch the roof if you can get matching shingles and know some basic roofing.

Ours went all the way to the basement and was used for the furnace and a wood stove. Patching the floor with fir flooring I milled myself was kinda fun.