I love chimneys! They add old-fashioned charm and bring warmth to a home. But, somehow, they’re overlooked when buying or renovating a home.
Such is the case with ours – there isn’t a fire place in the Cottage but the chimney was used to provide heat to the entire house via forced air through an oil furnace. So the air would come up from the basement through a grade in the flooring.
We removed all of it when we bought that cottage and never looked back… until all the electricity in town went out for 48 hours this past winter. What a reality check! We never again want to rely on external energy.
As a result, being “self sufficient” and “off the grid” is becoming more and more attractive. Think about it: having a fireplace or a stove would provide heat and hot water, warm food, etc. Furthermore, Lake Placid is in the middle of a 6 million acre forest! Lots of wood in those hills! Anyway, back to my story…
The first thing you want to do is hire a chimney inspection service. Sootbusters is one of our local services. Do a search to find the best ones in your area.
The cost can be any where from $75-150, and that could include cleaning if necessary. It usually takes about an hour.
However, older chimneys (more then 50 years old) will require an insert to make them safe and useable again. This process takes about a day and can cost anywhere from $1100-3000.
The good news is that the government considers this a “capital improvement” so it’s TAX FREE! YAY!! And once your new insert is in your chimney, it’s ready for anything!
I can’t wait to finally put in this cool old stove in! Being self-sufficient and enjoying the warmth of a fireplace is a dream come true.
What’s your chimney story?
