Chimney Woes

Economy No 21 Wood Stove

See the wood stove in the photo? (My dad was drinking the beer you see there, as he was sitting nearby.) We are presently using the wood stove as an ornament. This is because it looks dodgy. The chimney in particular is suspect, mostly due to the rust, but also because it has two 90-degree turns before it arrives at the ceiling. The wood stove itself has loads of character; I believe it says, "Economy No. 21."

I found the circa 1910 kerosene lamp, pictured in the foreground, at an antique mall in Leduc, Alberta. It casts a beautiful light, but the fumes may take some getting used to.

Water Leaks

Previous Damage

The photos above show the chimney, where it enters the attic. I cannot imagine the nastiness that we will discover once we are brave enough to explore that area of the Little Blue House. We were able to witness water leaking from the ceiling, in the vicinity of the chimney, during a recent stay in the LBH. There was a big rainstorm, and water was dripping both from the chimney itself (where you can see the rusty area and wet part near the elbow) and from the ceiling (at the lower edge of the tin panel on the ceiling).

We placed a bucket underneath the leak, and decided that the chimney should be removed. I think we should find a professional to remove the outside portion of the chimney and to repair the roof in that spot. Then we can remove the inside part of the chimney ourselves... Maybe? Sledgehammer? Saw? I think that will be messy. Sooner or later, it must happen.

What should we do with the wood stove? Should we:

a) leave it in its current location, as an ornament, or
b) put a new chimney in, and use the wood stove in its current location, or
c) remove the wood stove altogether?

Chimney from Woodstove

Here is the chimney as seen from outside. Like the bucket? We've seen houses with buckets on chimneys all over town! I guess we will take the chimney out and fix up the resulting hole in the roof. I think it may be wise to do this before winter hits. Our youngest child wants the bucket.

The other chimney, the one for the cookstove, is in much better shape! It is quite new, and was installed when the metal roof was put on the house about 6 or 7 years ago. I will talk more about the cookstove in a future post.

What would an old house be without water dripping from the ceiling into a bucket? An impostor!