Great Heights, Great Chimneys!

The Victorian house original had four fireplaces that were in terrible shape. The mantels disappeared long ago and our task was to first determine if the chimneys were sound and could be used again. We called in a chimney expert and together we climbed all over the roof, shot photographs and video of the fireplaces and determined the condition of the bricks.

Our big fear is fire. The upper parts of the chimneys were damaged badly and probably did not have caps of them for 50 years. Nothing will kill off a chimney quicker then a chimney without weather caps. We called upon the chimney guy for a complete reconstruction of all five flues and his recommendation was that the core part of the chimneys were sound, but recommended that we take the chimneys down three feet below the roof line and rebuild from there. We agreed and the repair and restorations began.

Much of the original brick we found in the back yard under two foot of soil. We imported chimney brick from another project that the chimney guy had salvage that was in excellent shape. We also had some decorative brick that would add a nice touch to the finished look.

The photo on the left is the fireplace in the master bedroom. Despite its awful exterior look, it was in good shape. The fireplace to the right is on the first floor which was either a library or living room. The original prints do not call out anything specific for this space. All the fireplaces were gas fired and there wasn't a hint of coal or wood burned in the house.

This photograph is of the three chimneys you see from the front of seventh street. We install three copper chimney caps to add a nice touch. We looked hard at clay chimney pots manufacture by Superior Clay, but when each weighed in at two hundred and some pounds, the copper caps were easier to install and would do a better job keeping the wildlife out. I do really admire the Superior Clay product line and may consider them in the future.

Thieves with hammers pulled this fireplace surround from the wall completely destroying a wonderful casting. We've looked high and low without success for a replacement, but just by chance we found a fireplace insert that was the same dimensions and was period for the house. The one thing we found was that some one had written their name behind this mantel. We saw it when the light hit the wall just right.

Although it is almost impossible to read in this photo above, we shot both digital and film to preserve this small part of history and we'll conserve it when we mount a new replacement mantel.

Here it is retouched and enhanced. It reads "404" John Clary, Dec 16, 1897.

We took that name to the local library and handed to Melissa who reported back that John Clary was the gentleman who painted the house. He was listed as a painter in Cambridge in the city of Cambridge census. Melissa provided us with a wonderful report.

We're unsure what the 404 means since the street address is 303.

This is Kevin Miser. A very talented brick and mortar guy. He slaved in the July heat for weeks rebuilding the five flues. He was a delight to work with and I'd recommend him to my friends.

He did an excellent job working around the new roof. We had no choice at the time and were forced to install the new roof on as soon as possible since the slate roof had been remove by the past owners and water would poured into the house. Kevin worked his flashing magic around the roof and guaranteed it that it wouldn't leak. The step flashing took a considerable amount of time.

Now that the chimneys are completed, it's time to bring our attention inside. The quest for four mantels begins.

We would welcome any additional information about this house. If you know anything about this house, the neighborhood, or photographs,
please email us at:



victorian house@efadgroup.com