How to Build a Chimney

It was the night of 24th December and the clock struck twelve. "It's Christmas Eve but Santa hasn't shown up yet!" thought little Joshua. "What must be the reason?" he pondered. He sat in the living room for a long while before retiring back to his room. He was feeling blue and thought to himself "I think Santa saw me being a bad boy and decided not to get me a gift this year. But I have been a good boy all round the year. Why does Santa think I am bad?" He finally fell asleep with tears in his eyes. Little did he know, that poor Santa had come to give him a present, but was stuck up on the roof, as Joshua's father did not know how to build a chimney.

Since, the fireplace and chimney are associated with the dangerous element 'fire', fire safety comes before anything else. To know 'how to build a masonry chimney', one needs to know some basic facts.

Basic Parts of a Masonry Chimney

• Chimney Cap: Chimney cap, also known as chimney pot or rain cap, is the topmost cover of the chimney and prevents rain, birds, animals, etc., from falling through. They are available in various shapes, sizes and textures.
• Chimney Crown: The immediate point from where the chimney protrudes above the roof is called the chimney crown. It is built in a sloping manner to let the rain and snow slide down, rather than accumulate or enter the chimney.
• Chimney Flue: This is the main component used for the easy passage of smoke. A flue pipe connects all the heating appliances to the chimney. This is possible only if it is a metal chimney, as a brick one requires every appliance in the house to have a separate flue pipe running up to it. The inside of the chimney is lined with flue liners. Flue liners prevent the flue pipes from excessive heat.
• Chimney Damper: A damper is present above the firebox. It directs the flow of warm air inside the room. A well-fitted damper does not let warm air escape through the chimney.
• Chimney Cleanout Door: A cleanout door allows access to the fireplace for sweeping out the soot and debris. The chimney may or may not have a cleanout door, as the opening of the firebox is usually big enough to sweep out the debris.

How to Build a Brick Chimney

The materials required to build a brick chimney are:

• Bricks
• Firebricks
• Brick tongs
• Damper
• Mortar
• Sand
• Flues
• 4 foot level and 2 foot level
• Bevel square
• Finishing trowel
• Margin trowel
• Striker
• Brush
• Brick hammer
• Sledge hammer
• Brick chisel
• Scaffolding structure.

Steps to Build a Brick Chimney

• First and foremost, find out the rules and norms set for building a chimney in your area.
• Before starting the construction, prepare a rough layout according to those norms.
• Start by constructing the firebox with the firebricks. Do not use normal bricks to construct the firebox.
• Now, build the wall encapsulating the firebox with the selected bricks. Take care that the height of the outside wall should be same as the firebox wall.
• Fill in the gap between the firebox wall and outside wall with brick and mortar.
• Fitting the damper is the next process. The damper should be air-tight, else it will let the warm air to pass through. If any gaps exist around it, fill it with mortar.
• The next step is to construct the smoke chamber. A distance of few inches should be kept along the edges of the damper while building the smoke chamber, so that the flue can be set within it.
• Next, secure the flue carefully in the smoke chamber.
• Build the rest of the chimney till the roof, in a normal way. As you reach the brim of the roof, construct a sloping crown around it for preventing the rain and snow from entering the chimney.
• Construct the chimney past the roof, only upto the height specified by the local building construction association.
• Finish filling the sides around the flue with mortar, so that only the top of the flue is visible.
• Now, cover the top of the flue with a chimney cap.

Having an artistic fireplace always adds to the beauty of the living room. A well-constructed chimney complements the fireplace by helping to vent the smoke, without befogging the rest of the room. If the guidelines on how to build a chimney are followed carefully, it will result in a beautiful and safe fireplace for your house.