James,
Planning a trip to Mass. soon? Maybe the first week of April?
Stu
I’ll give that chimney the benefit of prevailing winds, I’ll bet on October 10, 2008.
I did an inspection, about a year ago, on an older 3 story house. When I arrived (early) and started the exterior, I noticed that I could see light through the brick chimney’s mortar joints.
When the client and realtor arrived, I advised the realtor to call the listing agent (REO forclosure) and tell her that the chimeny was, in my opinion, unsafe.
The inside of the house was a mess. One example: All the gas piping in the basement was just nipple connected pieces of the flexible piping used to connect stoves or dryers.
Found the cause of the chimney problem. 2 cat 4 condensing furnaces (2rd and 3rd floors) vented directly into the chimney (the house had been split up into apartments, by floor).
The buyer decided to opt out early. As he, his realtor and myself were standing at the front of the house, talking, the 3 story chimney fell. Took out a car parked along side the house but, thank G-d, there was no one on the sidewalk.
I made sure that the realtor had notified the listing agent.
Got a call, from the bank, about 3 days later. They wanted to sue me for the chimney. I refered them to the buyers realtor and my lawyer. never heard from them again.
Looking back, maybe I should have just called the fire dept.
You never know when liability will raise its ugly head. :shock:
If you look closely, you will see that the homeowner has addressed the problem with a bit of twisted baling wire intended to hold the chimney from tilting further!
DIYers. Gotta love em :mrgreen:
Maybe they put the baling wire there to prevent the house from slipping further away from the chimney.
My bet is the wind will topple this.
I’m still monitoring this chimney. I believe it moved a tad more but,
Nothing yet…
UPDATE…
It’s been two months and this chimney is still gradually making it’s way towards landfall.
Notice the 1 inch gap at the transition area…compared to my original post.
I’m going to cordon this area off with “POLICE TAPE”.
Better send them an email to install more bailing wire at the top. ha. ha.
Marcel 
Speaking of baling wire…Notice that it’s taut now compared to my first pic where it was loose.
Amazing! They just sliced out an area and had Uncle Bob put up a chimney. Bob, “The ground will hold it.” They must have wanted a wood stove or something for additional heat, and it required exhaust! This may not have been the solution…
Well, I missed my date for the collapse.
Hope no one gets hurt, really.
Stu
Sure looks straight and level, are you sure Termites are not walking away with the house? :shock:
Marcel I thought you knew about the new changes regarding duct tape, it is now an approved material for securing anything on a building!
I drove past a house with a brick chimney last week and one brick near the top was turned so that most of it hung out into thin air and although I couldn’t figure out how it got that way, it’s bugged me ever since that I didn’t stop and knock on the door. I was late for an inspection and didn’t want to stop. Now I can’t remember where it was. The yard was full of kid’s toys.
If ever again I see a situation that could hurt someone… I’m going to pull over and knock on that door. Yeah, it’s still passing on liability… a moral liability… but it means I won’t have to live with the thought that my priorities are arranged wrong.
I think yours has long since been taken care of…before you were born, possibly…:mrgreen:
*This chimney broke and nearly fell in the 1969 magnitude 5.6 Santa Rosa earthquake (photo courtesy NISEE). *
I was living in Haight-Ashbury during this…
Nice try I still pic 10-4-08