Taking It on the Chimney : What You Need to Know When Deciding to Repair or Replace

Terry and Valerie Lupton knew without question the cracked chimney in their rented Atwater Village home would need substantial repair work after the Jan. 17 earthquake ripped through Southern California.

But what they didn’t expect was the subsequent thousands of dollars in additional damage and danger caused when an incompetent handyman knocked their chimney stack onto their front porch overhang, which collapsed in a splintered heap of wood, tar paper and bricks seconds before Terry Lupton returned home from a walk with his two young sons.

“He’s chipping away at the chimney from the roof line . . . and it goes down at a side angle and crashes through my porch,” an incredulous Lupton said. “I’m thinking this guy’s a joker and he doesn’t know how to do things.”

Lupton said the self-professed handyman got on his roof after telling Lupton the landlord gave him approval to repair the chimney. In fact, the surprised landlord agreed to no such deal, and the wayward handyman has since disappeared.

“You’re so vulnerable and you’d think a spirit of honesty would run through all of this,” said Lupton of the post-quake days. “That is the really sad part.”

Throughout the Southland, one of the great earthquake equalizers are broken and damaged chimneys. In Los Angeles alone, building and safety officials estimated that 15,000 homes, from modest dwellings to lavish mansions, suffered substantial chimney and fireplace damage in the 6.6 temblor.

“Most of the damage has occurred from the roof line up,” said Ron Aarons, an architect and owner of Calabasas-based Aarons & Associates, who has spent most of his post-earthquake days inspecting chimneys. “A chimney is like a flagpole and is whipped back and forth at a different rate than the house. The damage has been phenomenal.”

Even some reinforced brick fireplaces that withstood the quake with no breakage themselves caused damage to the less sturdy wood walls to which they were attached, Aarons said.

And as aftershocks continue to rumble through the earth, many people feel desperate to hire whoever is available to repair damage or remove these potentially unstable stacks of bricks sitting above their roofs.

Experts in the field, however, are warning residents to move cautiously when replacing or repairing their fireplaces. A poorly repaired or improperly installed fireplace could wind up costing lives.

“It’s probably the most dangerous thing you’ll put in a house,” said Al Wiras, a 25-year veteran of the fireplace business and owner of California Fireplaces in Chatsworth. “You got to know what you’re doing. If it’s not put together right, fire could come up through the seams and start a (house) fire. People think they’re saving money, but what’s a good price when a guy goes to sleep at night and might not get up in the morning?”

Gary Abrams, a general contractor who runs the Home Doctor company in Los Angeles and Ventura counties and who specializes in general home repair and seismic safety, agreed. “The list of things that can go wrong will curl your hair,” he said.

Here’s some advice for homeowners or renters:

Inspection

Safety should be the first concern of any homeowner or occupant who lives in a house with a fireplace. And those familiar with fireplaces and their potential hazards urge residents to hold off using them until they’re thoroughly inspected for damage inside and out, preferably by a licensed contractor or a mason familiar with chimneys.

“I’m advising everybody, if there’s any damage at all, not to use them,” said Kagel Canyon mason Coddy Nuckols. “If there’s any cracking, combustible materials can get through those cracks.”

“In the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, fires were initiated from cooking fires in damaged fireplaces,” said Capt. Larry Jarvis of the L.A. City Fire Department Disaster Preparedness Center in Sherman Oaks. “And not only do you have the problem of fire spread, but if you use your fireplace and there’s damage at any point on the chimney structure itself, it could leak toxic fumes in your house.”

Those fumes can even enter the home through cracks inside the flue that aren’t visible and require an expert to spot them. Wiras gets the close-up view with a small video camera that he lowers into the flue on a line. “I let it down, turn it around in the flue, and sometimes you’ll be surprised what you see in there,” he said.

Check Credentials

“Everyone wants to be a fireplace man right now,” Wiras said. “ . . . There are thousands of them out there who don’t know what they’re doing.”

Before hiring anyone to inspect or repair your fireplace, make sure they’re licensed and insured. And it’s usually best to seek a referral. If friends or family are unable to give you names, Abrams suggests calling a fireplace dealer for the names of at least three workers they deal with regularly.

Then, when you call, tell them who referred you. “You have more clout with whomever you’re calling if you get their name from someone they deal with,” he said.

Permits

Don’t authorize any fireplace work without the proper building and safety permit.

Within the city of Los Angeles, permits are issued over the counter at the Department of Building and Safety along with new standardized reconstruction plans that were modified after the quake to allow only metal flues in reconstruction of chimneys broken below the roof line.

Officials have imposed severe restrictions on new masonry fireplaces. The newly adopted ordinance bans construction of masonry fireplaces attached to wood structures--as they are in most homes. New masonry fireplaces will be allowed only if they have metal flues, are free-standing units or are attached to a sturdy material, such as reinforced brick, concrete or steel.

“It’s not impossible, it can be done,” said Nick Delli Quadri, senior structural engineer with the Los Angeles City Department of Building and Safety.

The new code change that applies to rebuilding of chimneys has stalled a number of reconstruction efforts, but city officials defend the change as essential.

“Fireplaces are the first thing to come down in earthquakes,” said Delli Quadri. “A masonry chimney is a very heavy part of the building. The pieces can fall off into the house and kill or injure the occupants, and it can pull down the structure.”

Studio City resident Donna Walker was among the homeowners caught unaware by the new code. The day after the quake, she was celebrating her good fortune at quickly finding an available contractor to repair her fallen chimney.

“Now, I’m sitting here with two levels of brick on my roof and they won’t go any further,” she said recently. “But given the choice, I want something that’s going to be flexible in the future.”

Walker’s broken chimney knocked a large chunk of ceiling plaster onto her living room floor and the loose bricks hammered deep dents into her concrete driveway. “That’s scary stuff,” she said. “I want something safe.”

Among the more frightening chimney disasters was the damage wreaked at the Toluca Lake home of actor Jerry Van Dyke and his wife, Shirley.

All four of Van Dyke’s masonry fireplaces broke in the quake--including a massive 7-foot-wide bedroom chimney that collapsed intact through his roof, breaking the ceiling joist as it crashed onto the bedroom floor. On its way down, it ripped a hole in the ceiling more than 10-feet wide and barely missed the couple in bed.

“They happened to be sleeping in a four poster bed, which kept the ceiling joist from falling on top of them,” said Aarons, who was hired by the couple to inspect the damage.

Alternatives

A widely used alternative to traditional masonry fireplaces --and now the only acceptable method for rebuilding a damaged masonry chimney within L.A. city limits--is a combination fireplace with a masonry firebox (where the wood is burned) connected to a stainless steel flue. A wood-frame chase is then built around the flue and encased in a lightweight veneer that matches the rest of the fireplace.

“They move a little, they give a little and there’s not much weight on top,” Wiras said of the stainless steel chimneys. “I’m not saying they’re going to hold in a big earthquake, but they’re not going to fall in a driveway or through a roof and kill someone.”

Only those brands of stainless steel flues designed specifically for use with masonry fireplaces are safe for use. Among the most widely accepted are Metalbestos flues (which do not contain asbestos, despite the name).

Wiras warned homeowners away from contractors who, unfamiliar with chimney work, are installing flues designed for metal--not masonry--fireplaces. As a result, they don’t fit correctly and can prove unsafe.

Combination masonry and metal fireplaces, though not the purists’ preference, have been the choice in many of the region’s fanciest homes long before the earthquake.

“I try to talk all my clients into using them,” Aarons said of the metal flues. “They’re good and just as efficient (as masonry chimneys.) What I say is put the money where you can touch it and feel it--put it in the mantel.”

Prefabs

For those who want to completely eliminate all brick, there’s the prefabricated metal fireplace.

Prefabricated fireplaces are the least expensive alternative to traditional fireplaces. Because they require no foundation and minimal labor, they can be purchased, installed and finished for about $3,500 to $4,000--compared to $6,000 to $8,000 for the average masonry fireplace. The cost of the typical combination masonry and metal fireplace falls somewhere in between.

With so many fireplaces and buildings damaged in the earthquake, many homeowners and renters may find a rather long wait before finding a qualified mason or contractor available to do the work.

In such instances Abrams advises residents, whenever possible, to climb onto their roof and give the chimney an initial, close inspection for any cracks, loose bricks or other signs of movement. If such damage is evident, he suggests family members show extra caution.

“Until it’s repaired or taken down, make a conscious effort to simply avoid that part of the house,” he said. “Use common sense. If you have any doubts, stay away from it.”