How bad is this crack in the chmney???

[phil1963]

Folks,
Can someone give me an honest opinion of the severity of the crack in the chimney (photo attached) running between where the brickwork joins the render. To me it look like nothing too much ....... but I maybe wrong!Any ideas of how much it would cost and how long it would take to repair? It is on the roof of a two-floor Victorian terraced house and access with scaffold/tower would be easy.
Thanks in advance. View media item 33518

 

[^woody^]

Its probably not going anywhere in the short/medium term, but it will get worse, and how quickly is anyone's guess

Repair is a rebuild

 

[tim00]

Woody is quite correct. However:
1. why the partial rendering? probably because of exposure and water ingress in the past. Frozen water causes expansion, hence cracking and spalling. the render could also be concealing past, brickwork damage.
2. there are two cracked bricks high and left in the corbelling, so presumably the water ingress was from above ie. the flaunching, which looks to have been renewed.
3. is the stack in use? if not, consider removing/ dropping it below roof plane level.
4. are there any indications of water staining inside the property?
5. are the flues vented and capped?
6. more pics from all angles and gable/elevations would help.

 

[jeds]

My advice is get a surveyor to look and give you a specification for repair. I'd want the render hacked off first so I could see the condition of the brickwork beneath. Then get the surveyor to check the finished works.

 

[^woody^]

There is a chimney in the background with similar part render and the render also seems original, so is this a feature of the properties in this street?

 

[freddiemercurystwin]

Ooooooooh, get her!

 

[Nige F]

Woody- you have the eyes of an eagle Freddy - you Need to Break free

 

[phil1963]

Thanks for the replies. The chimney is use by next door who I share it with but not by me. There are no pots and caps atop the chimney. Cheers for the advise - I dread to think when the chimney was last rendered. The house was built in 1884 and my roof repaired about 1990 and it is good condition (I am told by a few roofers).