Cut a hole in my house on purpose

[woody]

Back many years ago I was sitting on my porch and saw fire coming out of a neighbors house about 1/4 mile away, as I was running down there I could see it was coming from the chimney looked like a giant blow torch but when I got there the neighbors were standing in the yard watching it. They claimed they did that every year but I didn't know must of been when I was at work, said they had a liner in it and it didn't hurt since they kept it clean and I did notice it did not burn long and it was out.

 

[woody]

would it be possible to mount a safety cable from the access door to the chimney to latch your safety harness to and permanently mount the ladder to the chimney so it can't kick out with you?

 

[bdhsfz6]

It's been a real headache getting onto the roof of my house to clean the chimney for the last 8 years we've lived here. The one section of the roof near the chimney has really poor ladder access and requires two ladders to get up top. When I want to clean the chimney, it turns into an all-day project by the time I setup the ladders, rig fall protection, clean the chimney (that part is only 20 minutes) and then put everything away. On top of that, the only feasible location for the main ladder is on a wall with a 6-pane bay window, and I always felt like I was tempting fate propping up a 28' ladder right in front of the windows.

So the last time I was up there, I was eyeballing a section of gable wall that adjoins the attic. I started thinking about putting an access hatch from the attic out onto that roof section, which would put me 15' from the chimney. I'd still need a ladder, but only a 6' ladder to lean up against the chimney.

Well, chimney cleaning time rolled around again and I dreaded dealing with all the ladders. I put it off for a couple weeks and finally decided it was time to cut the access hatch from the attic. Because of the way the different roof sections came together, there was only one spot it would work, and I'd have to squeeze through the 14.5" space between studs (which went down to 13" after I trimmed it out). Before committing, I practiced slipping through a 13" opening using the pocket door in our laundry room, and found it to be very doable. If I get any fatter or less limber, I probably shouldn't be going up on a roof anyhow.

So step one was to lay down some scrap OSB on the attic floor to give me something to walk on. I used up a lot of small pieces of OSB I had laying around that wouldn't have been good for much else. Then it came time to hog out a hole between two studs in the attic wall, starting with a sawzall and cleaning up with a skil saw:

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I framed the top and bottom of the opening (bottom angled at about 20 degrees) and put some flashing tape on the sill, then bent up aluminum flashing for the top and bottom of the opening:

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Using PVC board, I pre-fabbed a jamb and got it positioned in the opening:

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Then caulk and paint around the jamb:

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To close up the opening, I made a panel from 1/2" plywood with Hardie board glued on the outside and painted green. I put weather strip between the panel and the jamb, so it should be about as tight of a seal as a typical door. No picture of the outside of the panel, since I didn't want to shut myself out on the roof just for a photo op. But here's the inside of the panel blocked into place (I can just pull nails from the blocks and tilt the panel inward to open it up):

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The last step was to setup an anchor point for a fal protection system. I bolted a framing ring to a 2x8 with a steel backer plate, and screwed that across 4 studs with 5/16" timber screws. I doubt it needed to be that strong, but fall protection systems are supposed to be rated for several thousand pounds of load for arresting momentum in a fall. I know the mount and screws are strong enough, but it remains to be seen if the wall of the house will hold up. Could be that if I fall off the roof like Wiley Coyote, the gable wall of the attic will come down behind me!

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With the access hatch setup, it was easy to waltz out to the chimney and clean it. The top cover pan is looking pretty rusty, so I plan to replace it come springtime (probably use stainless steel, as galvanized just doesn't hold up). That will be a much easier project with quick access to the chimney.

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Well thought out project with great execution!

I'm also at the age where working off tall ladders isn't the smartest thing to do. I have a chimney with four flues that need to be cleaned. Two are for fireplaces, one for a coal stove and the fourth for an oil burner. I also have several antennas and weather instruments on the roof which require year round maintenance.

After I built my deck, I ditched the 28' ladder and constructed this aluminum roof mounted platform:

It supports a short 10' ladder which I store on the deck. It also provides a level "landing" and sturdy hand rails to more safely make the transition to the roof slope.

 

[dstig1]

Well thought out project with great execution!

I'm also at the age where working off tall ladders isn't the smartest thing to do. I have a chimney with four flues that need to be cleaned. Two are for fireplaces, one for a coal stove and the fourth for an oil burner. I also have several antennas and weather instruments on the roof which require year round maintenance.

After I built my deck, I ditched the 28' ladder and constructed this aluminum roof mounted platform:

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It supports a short 10" ladder which I store on the deck. It also provides a level "landing" and sturdy hand rails to more safely make the transition to the roof slope.

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That is a very sturdy looking and safe setup you have there....But that is way too much of an eyesore for even me to put up with (and I ain't that picky in general...). I truly hate the transition from ladder to roof and back. A couple quick grip clamps on the gutter (rubber grip faces) can help stabilize the ladder and is the best i have come up with so far. We all make our choices...glad you found one that worked for you.

 

[bdhsfz6]

That is a very sturdy looking and safe setup you have there....But that is way too much of an eyesore for even me to put up with (and I ain't that picky in general...). I truly hate the transition from ladder to roof and back. A couple quick grip clamps on the gutter (rubber grip faces) can help stabilize the ladder and is the best i have come up with so far. We all make our choices...glad you found one that worked for you.

Yeah, it sure isn't pretty but it's on the back of the house and only visible from the deck.

When someone asks, I just tell them it's a TV antenna.

 

[newbury]

Good looking project.
My main question is why didn't you just widen the hole and put in a double header?

 

[oosik]

That platform looks just great to me. Besides - reduces the chance of a "ground view" while recovering from a fall.

 

[s219]

Good looking project.
My main question is why didn't you just widen the hole and put in a double header?

Not sure if you can see in photos but there is a bracket (one of several) on the outside of the wall holding up the fly rafter on the gable and it would have been right up against the wider opening, plus I would have had to make the opening shorter due to the roof slope . I considered widening partway into the next stud cavity but decided it wasn’t worth the extra hassle due to limited gains.

 

[lman]

Good looking project.
My main question is why didn't you just widen the hole and put in a double header?

When it gets tight, he knows it's time to lose a few pounds.

 

[Oaktree]

Back many years ago I was sitting on my porch and saw fire coming out of a neighbors house about 1/4 mile away, as I was running down there I could see it was coming from the chimney looked like a giant blow torch but when I got there the neighbors were standing in the yard watching it. They claimed they did that every year but I didn't know must of been when I was at work, said they had a liner in it and it didn't hurt since they kept it clean and I did notice it did not burn long and it was out.

I hope their fire insurance is paid up. This is beyond stupid, a chimney fire that hot could conceivably crack the liner, let alone the possibility of sparks igniting something nearby.

I'm also at the age where working off tall ladders isn't the smartest thing to do. I have a chimney with four flues that need to be cleaned. Two are for fireplaces, one for a coal stove and the fourth for an oil burner. I also have several antennas and weather instruments on the roof which require year round maintenance.

After I built my deck, I ditched the 28' ladder and constructed this aluminum roof mounted platform:

Am I correct in assuming this platform is strictly to get onto the roof? I didn't see the chimney, and it seemed quite a ways from the antenna. Do you have a separate one to stand on when you're actually working up there?

You're fortunate in having a roof with a relatively shallow pitch. Mine is ~50°, way too steep for me. Other than a tv antenna that hasn't worked since the digital conversion there's no real reason for me to get up on mine. The antenna can stay there.
Maybe 5 years ago I had an old, unused chimney removed from my house. I hired it out, they used a bucket truck to work out of (plus one guy in the attic).