Saturday's Big Project

I am happy to report that I was not an active participant in Saturday's big project. I did take a few of the photos below but otherwise was merely an observer. Reid's friend, Mike, came over and helped with the manual labor.

Reid now has a chimney in his workshop! He was very diligent about seeking out the contractor who gave him advice on installation and building codes and then finding the best deal in town for pricing of the components. He was up early on Saturday morning and began the process of cutting a hole in our garage's ceiling! Eeks! Let's just say I was happily baking bread and then playing computer games inside where I could not see the destruction of our home. Now it's finished and beautiful.

Doesn't he slightly resemble the frightened raccoon or squirrel frequently found in the space between ceiling and rafters in a garage? He is sitting above the part that probably took the longest. He had to frame in a wooden box which held the ceiling support box that goes between chimney and stovepipe.

Once he had the box framed in he found the center of the box (in relation to the ceiling) by dropping a plumb line down through the box and then anchoring a screw in the corresponding spot in the ceiling. Then he took the circumference of his chimney, divided it by two and drew a circle around the screw. Ingenious, eh?

He started using the sawz-all inside but then went up onto the roof to finish the cutting of the circle.

And here is what it looked like from the inside. He's shaving off a bit more... I suggested while he was up there that he install a few sun lights because it created a nice abience in the garage. He didn't go for it.

It took several more steps, but here is the chimney sticking out of the hole, with the flashing screwed down to the roof and netting over the opening of the cap (both to keep animals out and to keep sparks in).

And here is the chimney from the inside with the ceiling box mounted below. The box is what holds the weight of the chimney so it was very important that it is well framed/supported.

And I know what you're thinking... isn't something missing? He wanted to wait and get the chimney installed before he decided how much stove pipe he needed. He also plans on building something (possibly out of cinder blocks) for the forge to rest on as it is a little short for him. After he gets those two things done (and the stand built for the anvil) he'll just need coal and iron and he'll be ready to start taking commissions! :)