Rebuilding stone chimney stack?

Hello all,

I have just been up removing a wasp nest from my circa 1855 terrace house chimney, it was right at the top.
I have replaced a broken slate at the top of it & repointed it however I'm pretty concerned at how loose the top layer of bricks are.

The morter between them is just black & crumbly & the security of it concerns me now.

It also looks to have bowed out at the top on one side.

I'm pretty sure that what it really needs is taking down & rebuilding so that at least the top 3 layers are more secure, however it will probably mean the layers below also need rebuilding with new morter etc.


However to do it will I'm sure take quite a while & require some scaffolding platform, I dont fancy doing it with just ropes & a harness like I did today.

FIrst Question is, will I be able to have just a scaffolding platform around the chimney supported by the roof or will the platform need
scaffolding down to ground level?

Cheers,
Mattylad.

depending on the weight that will be on the scaff, i wouldn't overload a chimney scaff too much. Best ring up the scaffolders