Cut a hole in my house on purpose

[s219]

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:

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:

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

Then caulk and paint around the jamb:

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):

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!

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.

 

[EddieWalker]

I've never cleaned my chimney. I heat my house in winter with a wood stove and burn about 2 chords a year, but some of that is out on the porch, so I burn less then 2 chords in my stove. Other then the rust issue, what are you actually cleaning on the chimney?

 

[oosik]

The roof right below where you cut the new door looks awfully steep. Must be a real thrill going out to clean the chimney. So it was a ladder up onto that roof and then a ladder from the peak up onto the chimney. Yes, that would get your blood running.

 

[jyoutz]

I've never cleaned my chimney. I heat my house in winter with a wood stove and burn about 2 chords a year, but some of that is out on the porch, so I burn less then 2 chords in my stove. Other then the rust issue, what are you actually cleaning on the chimney?

You should always run a brush through the chimney and remove the powdery creosote. If this continues to build up, you could have a chimney fire.

 

[jyoutz]

The roof right below where you cut the new door looks awfully steep. Must be a real thrill going out to clean the chimney. So it was a ladder up onto that roof and then a ladder from the peak up onto the chimney. Yes, that would get your blood running.

I think I would lag bolt some angle iron to the roof to act as an anchor for the ladder.

 

[Diggin It]

I hate to second guess posters especially when they're not asking for suggestions and have already done the project.


But ....

I believe I'd have taken out another stud (doesn't appear to be load bearing there) and put in either a door or window. It may be deceiving, but that attic space almost looks big enough for a small room and a window might be quite fitting.


In fact, I did that very thing more or less. Took out a narrow double hung window and put in a 5 x 6 sliding window flagged for Egress. I open that now and step onto the roof. Did similar on the front, but with a smaller slider due to space limitations. I've done metal roof since then and it's a whole lot harder to stand up and walk on.


How far out from there is the chimney? Is it along that same roof peak? If so, is it possible to do a catwalk type of thing from there to the chimney?

 

[s219]

I've never cleaned my chimney. I heat my house in winter with a wood stove and burn about 2 chords a year, but some of that is out on the porch, so I burn less then 2 chords in my stove. Other then the rust issue, what are you actually cleaning on the chimney?

Creosote/ash inside the chimney is the problem. I take the cap off the chimney and run a chimney brush up and down the inside of the pipe a few times until it slides smoothly. I normally fill about 1/4 - 1/2 of a 5-gallon bucket with creosote ash (bucket is placed in the fireplace under the chimney pipe). If that is left to buildup inside the pipe, it becomes a chimney fire hazard.

Our chimney is about 24' long. It's inevitable that the smoke will cool off before it gets to the top and then deposit creosote/ash/etc on the inside of the pipe. Keeping the fire hot minimized the problem. Having shorter chimneys reduces the problem. But it happens to every chimney. If you haven't cleaned yours then you're long overdue!

 

[EddieWalker]

Thanks. Mine is probably 12 feet long. I figured that when winter hits, we burn it so hot that it would burn out anything on the pipe, but since I never looked, or tried to clean it, I really don't know what's in there.

 

[s219]

It's also good to clean out the top cap or wind screen if you have one, since that will build up with creosote too. I hit the inside of the screen with a wire brush and knock off a good amount of deposits that would otherwise restrict flow.

A lot of this depends on the type of wood you burn and how hot you keep the fire. I season my wood at least 2 years before burning, and often longer if we have mild winters and my reserves build up. When wood is green or moist, it creates steam and the steam is what cools down the smoke as it rises up the chimney, depositing creosote. With dry wood and a hot fire, it minimizes the problem. If the smoke stays hot all the way up the chimney, theoretically there would be no deposits.

I lived through a couple chimney fires as a kid and they can be quite scary (the second one cracked the masonry chimney tiles from heat and the chimney was no longer usable -- had to drop a stainless liner down it). So I try to stay on top of things and make sure we burn clean and hot. Unfortunately my wife loves to let the fire die out then restart it, several times a day (to be fair, she's a mom and got many other things to manage). Can't tell you how many times I will be outside working on a project and see the chimney belching smoke as the fire dies out and she throws on a new log to smolder -- worst possible thing for creosote buildup. I always joke with her that I saw her smoke signals and came rushing back to defend the homestead.

 

[ruffdog]

Good job on keeping up with chimney maintenance and making it easier for you to safely do it. My wife will also smolder a fire instead of burning clean....grr.