*** We only do Chimney Tear Downs in the Spring and Summer when the weather is warm. WE do not do them between August 15th – February or March 15th (depending on how long the Winter weather is going that year) as it is Chimney Sweep Season and we only do Chimney Sweeps, Firebox repairs, Caps, Top Damper and smoke guard installs during that time. So do not call between these periods as we do not provide this service those months ***
Chimney Tear Down
We perform chimney tear down work quite often. There are a few factors in bidding a chimney tear down.
1. We need to come into the house and see what areas the chimney we are tearing down is near to plan how to best tear it out and remove debris.
2. In the bid, we will state the areas that need to be cleared out of appliances, furniture and other household items. We will also let you know what areas of the floors need to be prepped to protect them from debris with either tarps or plywood sheets (depending on what the floor is made of). Sometimes tearing down a chimney creates dust (especially old oil furnace chimneys that usually have sulfur decayed mortar from the oil emissions), and we will let you know what area we will tarp off, as well as areas such as doors, etc. that need to be taped up to protect the rest of the house from this dust.
3. Plan the pathway route to take the bricks to the exterior of the house to either a dumpster or staging area.
4. If the chimney goes through an unimproved attic area where the floor is just the beams for the floor below it and insulation, boards will need to be put on the floor from attic access to the location the chimney runs through it.
HAUL AWAY
There are a few option on what to do with the rubble.
1. We can rent a dumpster to fill with the chimney once torn down and remove away. Size and price of dumpster will vary on size of chimney being torn down. If you are in Portland, we can rent a dumpster from any company in the area. If you are in Washington or Clackamas County, you are unfortunately limited to whatever dumpster company serves your address. The Legislature has landlocked who you can call based on address. This even includes different companies for houses next door or across the street from each other. This price is added in addition to the charge of tearing down the chimney. Daily fees charged by the dumpster company for any reason should the job go over the anticipated time will be added on to the bill.
2. You can either keep the bricks for your own use or put up an add on Craigs List to have others come up and pick up the bricks. Depending on time of year, your success on getting rid of the bricks this way will vary. If you keep them for your own use, we can tell you what you need to do to clean up the appearance of the bricks as best as possible.
We do not offer the option of hauling away the bricks via our own truck anymore to take to the recycling yard as that option is now far more expensive than renting a dumpster.
Due to inflation the cost of dumpster rentals has risen dramatically from month to month. When you tear down a chimney the dumpster rental company will make you rent a 10 yard dumpster as when that dumpster is filled up with bricks and rubble it is the heaviest thing the DOT will allow on the road. Even if you have a small chimney or brick wall, that will only rent a 10 yard dumpster. When you call the dumpster rental prices that you have to rent will be whatever the price is for that ten yard dumpster at that time. Multnomah county you can call any Dumpster Rental Company in the area to rent a dumpster. If you live in Clackamass or Washington County you can not call any dumpster company and the company you have to call is based on your street address and is land locked to whatever company that is. West Lin.
*** We only do Chimney Tear Downs in the Spring and Summer when the weather is warm. WE do not do them between August 15th – February or March 15th (depending on how long the Winter weather is going that year) as it is Chimney Sweep Season and we only do Chimney Sweeps, Firebox repairs, Caps, Top Damper and smoke guard installs during that time. So do not call between these periods as we do not provide this service those months ***