Just started on my mate's bathroom while he and highly strung Mrs are on hols. I repaired some rotting fascia on the back of the house last month which was presumed to be the cause of the damp patch of ceiling in the corner of the bathroom.
Today I took down the old poly cove and that bit of blown ceiling and wall plaster to find a suspect piece of ply - still a bit damp. Removing this I saw two joists - no hold on they're bricks!
Instead of capping the chimney pot the previous owners have removed the flue all the way down to the ground leaving the remaining 15-20 courses balanced on the party wall (have checked the neighbour's flue and it's intact all the way down). All they did to stop water getting in was to stuff a couple of plaster bags up the flue before wedging in the piece of ply. A classic bodge.
Luckily it's a scullery chimney so the dangling corner is only one brick across but what should I do? There's no sign of any cracks or movement so far.
I understand I can fit a cap to the chimney pot (which seems secure) to keep the water out but how to support this end of the chimney? Can I belt a piece of angle across from the back wall to the party wall and then pack up under the floating corner? I'm not sure gallows brackets will hold in 100 yo brickwork.
Help!
Today I took down the old poly cove and that bit of blown ceiling and wall plaster to find a suspect piece of ply - still a bit damp. Removing this I saw two joists - no hold on they're bricks!
Instead of capping the chimney pot the previous owners have removed the flue all the way down to the ground leaving the remaining 15-20 courses balanced on the party wall (have checked the neighbour's flue and it's intact all the way down). All they did to stop water getting in was to stuff a couple of plaster bags up the flue before wedging in the piece of ply. A classic bodge.
Luckily it's a scullery chimney so the dangling corner is only one brick across but what should I do? There's no sign of any cracks or movement so far.
I understand I can fit a cap to the chimney pot (which seems secure) to keep the water out but how to support this end of the chimney? Can I belt a piece of angle across from the back wall to the party wall and then pack up under the floating corner? I'm not sure gallows brackets will hold in 100 yo brickwork.
Help!
