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How to spot Abandoned Chimneys & 3-sided Chimneys Impact of Chimney Location on Chimney Performance InspectAPedia®  -     Abandoned chimneys - outdoor clues can help spot a building where a chimney was partly removed Other chimney hazards spotted from outdoors: 3-sided chimneys How chimney location in or on a building affects the chimney's draft and performance

This article describes visual clues to pick up on abandoned chimneys and unsafe three-sided chimneys. Next we discuss how the location of the chimney on a building affects chimney draft and performance.

This website provides detailed suggestions describing how to perform a thorough visual inspection of chimneys for safety and other defects. Chimney inspection methods and chimney repair methods are also discussed. As with most inspection and safety topics, this material may be incomplete. © Copyright 2009 Daniel Friedman, All Rights Reserved. Information Accuracy & Bias Pledge is at below-left. Use links at the left of each page to navigate this document or to view other topics at this website. Green links show where you are in our document or website.

Abandoned Chimneys: Outdoor Clues

Notice that newer metal corrugated roofing patch at the right end of the metal roof in our photograph? If outside the building you see roofing details such as shown in our photo, you should be alert for an incompletely removed abandoned chimney indoors. Check the attic, the intermediate floors, and the basement for the remains of the chimney - it may have left a fire spread risk through the building or other hazards. See details about how to find abandoned chimneys and what the hazards and repairs are at Abandoned Chimneys.

Three-Sided Chimney Fire Hazards

A three-sided or "three walled chimney" is one which does not provide full masonry thickness or fire protection around all sides of the chimney flue. As Carson Dunlop's sketch shows, a 3-sided chimney may be constructed when a chimney is added to a building as a retrofit project. An amateur worker may place the chimney flue tiles right against the building exterior wall, covering only the flue's exposed surfaces with brickwork. Three sided chimneys can be a very serious fire risk because the chimney has been built close to or even directly against combustible building materials without the necessary fire clearance and masonry fire protection needed.

Chimney Location, Draft & Performance

As Carson Dunlop's sketch shows, a warm chimney works best at developing good draft which in turn helps assure that the appliances or fireplaces being vented by the chimney will perform properly. Construction of the chimney running through the interior of a home was originally done to get the most heat out of the chimney in cold weather. Even though it is easier to build the chimney on the outside wall of a building, a central chimney provided heat through its masonry to the building interior on all floors.

Draft: Thermal Performance of Chimneys

A chimney's thermal performance provides the "draft" by maintaining a warm interior lining. The draft is the pressure difference between ambient air and the less dense flue gases within the chimney. The lighter gases are buoyant and rise to be displaced by heavier ambient air.

The chimney must contain the hot gases and protect the surrounding materials against combustion. Residential masonry chimneys must protect the building while under exposure to 1000oF continuous flue gas temperature although most gas appliances operate with a flue gas temperature of about 300oF and oil burners with a flue gas temperature of about 500oF.

See DRAFT REGULATORS - barometric dampers and DRAFT HOODS - gas fired for details about draft, how it works, how it is measured, why it is important for safe appliance operation.

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Use links just below or at the left of each page to navigate this document or to view other topics at this website. Green links show where you are in our document or website.

CHIMNEY INSPECTION & REPAIR GUIDE
Abandoned Chimneys
Backdrafting Appliances
  Abandoned Flue Openings
  List of Abandoned Chimney Hazards
Abandoned Chimneys: Outdoors
Angled Chimney Flues
Chimneys: Outdoors - performance
Attic Chimney Inspection
Chimneys Cleaning Advice, Procedures
Chimney Cleanout Doors
Chimney Crack & Collapse Risks, Repairs
Chimney Crack Detection & Diagnosis
Chimney Draft & Performance
Chimney Leaning, Separation, Movement
Chimney Height & Clearance
Chimney Inspection Checklist
Chimney Inspection: Flue Interiors
Flue Interior Inspection Methods
Chimney Inspection Indoor Procedures
Chimney Inspection Outdoors From Ground
Chimney Inspection Outdoors at Rooftop
Angled Chimney Flues
Blocked Chimney Flues
Chimney Cap & Crown Inspection
Chimney Repair Methods
Chimney Safety - CPSC Alert
Chimney Spalling
Chimney Types & Materials
CO2 TOXICITY
COALSTOVE SAFETY
COMBUSTION PRODUCTS & IAQ
Dead End Chimney Flue Hazards
Definitions of Chimney Types & Parts
DRAFT HOODS - gas fired
DRAFT REGULATORS, DAMPERS, BOOSTERS
Fire Clearances for Masonry Chimneys
Fire Clearances for Metal Chimneys
Fire Clearances, Single-Wall Metal Flues
Fireplace Damage & Unsafe Hearths - Settlement
Flue Sizing of Chimneys
Flue Vent Connectors - Boilers, Furnaces
Fuel Changes for Heating Appliances
HEATING INSPECTIONS
HOME HEATING SAFETY
Metal Chimneys & Flues
Moisture Problems Damage Chimneys
OIL HEAT SAFETY INSPECTIONS
PLASTIC HEATER VENTS
Shared Chimney & Shared Flue Hazards
Stains on chimneys
Transite Pipe Chimneys & Flues
UNLINED FLUE INSPECTIONS
Wood Burning Heaters Fireplaces Stoves
HEATING COST FUEL & BTU Cost Table
Woodstove Safety

• Thanks to Alan Carson and Bob Dunlop, Carson Dunlop, Associates, Toronto, for permission to use illustrations from their publication, The Illustrated Home which illustrates construction details and building components. Carson Dunlop provides home inspection education, publications, report writing materials, and home inspection services. Alan Carson is a past president of ASHI, the American Society of Home Inspectors.
• Thanks to Luke Barnes for suggesting that we add text regarding the hazards of shared chimney flues. USMA - Sept. 2008.
• Arlene Puentes, an ASHI member and a licensed home inspector in Kingston, NY, and has served on ASHI national committees as well as HVASHI Chapter President. Ms. Puentes can be contacted at ap@octoberhome.com
• Roger Hankey is principal of Hankey and Brown home inspectors, Eden Prairie, MN, technical review by Roger Hankey, prior chairman, Standards Committee, American Society of Home Inspectors - ASHI. 952 829-0044 - hankeyandbrown.com
• Chimney Building Codes and Chimney, Flue, and Appliance Venting Standards
  • NFPA #211-3.1 1988 - Specific to chimneys, fireplaces, vents and solid fuel burning appliances.
  • NFPA # 54-7.1 1992 - Specific to venting of equipment with fan-assisted combustion systems.
  • GAMA - Gas Appliance Manufacturers' Association has prepared venting tables for Category I draft hood equipped central furnaces as well as fan-assisted combustion system central furnaces.
  • National Fuel Gas Code, an American National Standard, 4th ed. 1988 (newer edition is available) Secretariats, American Gas Association (AGA), 1515 Wilson Blvd., Arlington VA22209, and National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), Batterymarch Park, Quincy MA 02269. ANSI Z223.1-1988 - NFPA 54-1988. WARNING: be sure to check clearances and other safety guidelines in the latest edition of these standards.
  • Fire Inspector Guidebook, A Correlation of Fire Safety Requirements Contained in the 1987 BOCA National Codes, (newer edition available), Building Officials and Code Administrators International, Inc. (BOCA), Country Club HIlls, IL 60478 312-799-2300 4th ed. Note: this document is reissued every four years. Be sure to obtain the latest edition.
  • Uniform Mechanical Code - UMC 1991, Sec 913 (a.) Masonry Chimneys, refers to Chapters 23, 29, and 37 of the Building Code.
  • New York 1984 Uniform Fire Prevention and Building Code, Article 10, Heating, Ventilating, and Air Conditioning Requirements
  • New York 1979 Uniform Fire Prevention & Building Code, The "requirement" for 8" of solid masonry OR for use of a flue liner was listed in the One and Two Family Dwelling Code for New York, in 1979, in Chapter 9, Chimneys and Fireplaces, New York 1979 Building and Fire Prevention Code:
• "Top Ten Chimney (and related) Problems Encountered by One Chimney Sweep," Hudson Valley ASHI education seminar, 3 January 2000, contributed by Bob Hansen, ASHI
• Chimney Inspection Checklist, Carson Dunlop, Associates, Toronto, Ontario
• "Rooftop View Turns to Darkness," Martine Costello, Josh Kovner, New Haven Register, 12 May 1992 p. 11: Catherine Murphy was sunning on a building roof when a chimney collapsed; she fell into and was trapped inside the chimney until rescued by emergency workers.
• "Chimneys and Vents," Mark J. Reinmiller, P.E., ASHI Technical Journal, Vol. 1 No. 2 July 1991 p. 34-38.
• "Chimney Inspection Procedures & Codes," Donald V. Cohen was to be published in the first volume of the 1994 ASHI Technical Journal by D. Friedman, then editor/publisher of that publication. The production of the ASHI Technical Journal and future editions was cancelled by ASHI President Patrick Porzio. Some of the content of Mr. Cohen's original submission has been included in this more complete chimney inspection article: InspectAPedia.com/chimneys/Chimney_Inspection.htm. Copies of earlier editions of the ASHI Technical Journal are available from ASHI, the American Society of Home Inspectors.
• Natural Gas Weekly Update: http://tonto.eia.doe.gov/oog/info/ngw/ngupdate.asp Official Energy Statistics from the U.S. Government
• US Energy Administration: Electrical Energy Costs http://www.eia.doe.gov/fuelelectric.html

Books & Articles on Chimney Inspection, Testing, Diagnosis, & Repair

• Books, Complete List of Fireplace & Chimney Design, Inspection, Repair Books at the InspectAPedia Bookstore.
• Ceramic Roofware, Hans Van Lemmen, Shire Library, 2008, ISBN-13: 978-0747805694 - Brick chimneys, chimney-pots and roof and ridge tiles have been a feature of the roofs of a wide range of buildings since the late Middle Ages. In the first instance this ceramic roofware was functional - to make the roof weatherproof and to provide an outlet for smoke - but it could also be very decorative.
  The practical and ornamental aspects of ceramic roofware can still be seen throughout Britain, particularly on buildings of the Victorian and Edwardian periods. Not only do these often have ornate chimneys and roof tiles but they may also feature ornamental sculptures or highly decorative gable ends. This book charts the history of ceramic roofware from the Middle Ages to the present day, highlighting both practical and decorative applications, and giving information about manufacturers and on the styles and techniques of production and decoration.
  Hans van Lemmen is an established author on the history of tiles and has lectured on the subject in Britain and elsewhere. He is founder member and presently publications editor of the British Tiles and Architectural Ceramics Society. Available at the InspectAPedia Bookstore.
• Chimney Inspection Checklist, Carson Dunlop, Associates, Toronto, Ontario
• Chimney & Stack Inspection Guidelines, American Society of Civil Engineers, 2003 - These guidelines address the inspection of chimneys and stacks. Each guideline assists owners in determining what level of inspection is appropriate to a particular chimney and provides common criteria so that all parties involved have a clear understanding of the scope of the inspection and the end product required. Each chimney or stack is a unique structure, subject to both aggressive operating and natural environments, and degradation over time. Such degradation may be managed via a prudent inspection program followed by maintenance work on any equipment or structure determined to be in need of attention. Sample inspection report specifications, sample field inspection data forms, and an example of a developed plan of a concrete chimney are included in the guidelines. This book provides a valuable guidance tool for chimney and stack inspections and also offers a set of references for these particular inspections.
• Fireplaces, a Practical Design Guide, Jane Gitlin
• Fireplaces, Friend or Foe, Robert D. Mayo
• NFPA 211 - Standards for Chimneys & Fireplaces, NFPA
• Principles of Home Inspection: Chimneys & Wood Heating (Principles of Home Inspection), Carson Dunlop
• Woodstove & Fireplace Maintenance & Safety, L. L. Helwig

More Information on Building Diagnostic Inspections and Repairs

• NFPA 211 - 3-1.10 - Relining guide for chimneys
• NFPA 211 - 3-2 - Construction of Masonry Chimneys
• NFPA 211 - 3-3 - Termination Height for chimneys
• NFPA 211 - 3-4 - Clearance from Combustible Material
• NFPA 54 - 7-1 - Venting of Equipment into chimneys
• Brick Institute of America - Flashing Chimneys
  Brick Institute of America - Proper Chimney Crowns
  Brick Institute of America - Moisture Resistance of Brick
• American Gas Association - New Vent Sizing Tables
• Chimney Safety Institute of America - Chimney Fires: Causes, Effects, Evaluation
• National Chimney Sweep Guild - Yellow Pages of Suppliers

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