We did a thing

Mar 26, 2019 11:58 AM

Start from the top down! Who needs a fireplace and Chimney in Houston?

In comes skylight

It was a nice day at least

Frame it

Close it

Waterproof

We're ready for rain!

The offending structure. Seriously, who thought it was a genius idea building a 5x5 ft solid brick fireplace in the middle of the room??

Girlfriend hard at work. Calm down you thirsy bastards

Dat ass

"Welcome to my house, this is our fireplace!" - every owner since 1978

Yep, it's solid

My man Popeye came to help, Good friend! I'm pretty sure he didn't know what he was getting into (no one did)

Getting there

Found a 12pack of beer mortared into the thing lol. Pillows we're to catch bricks as we knocked them out of the attic and dropped them down the chute

Hulk smash

Bam

Cut out gas line (it was shut off and plugged before we started- important!)

Not seen: massive amounts of dust

My hole.

Frame it

Sheetrock

GF looking busy, but I ended up mudding

Kitchen to come in a month or so!

I'm guessing 5-10 cu. yards of brick total. Should have got dumpster here before...ugh

"Back away you thirsty bastard.." *proceeds to show ass

7 years ago | Likes 18 Dislikes 2

I hope you didn't miss the opportunity to sing "She's a brick... hoouuse!"

7 years ago | Likes 6 Dislikes 1

Post an ad on craigslist for free bricks. People on craigslist love free shit.

7 years ago | Likes 10 Dislikes 0

Build a barbecue with the excess bricks! This is in Texas, right?! Man up!

7 years ago | Likes 9 Dislikes 0

But... It really tied the room togetherd

7 years ago | Likes 3 Dislikes 0

we've got a rug, no worries

7 years ago | Likes 3 Dislikes 0

Did you check with an engineer? Because that might be load-bearing...

7 years ago | Likes 4 Dislikes 0

not likely if it was built in 78. modern brickwork (basically post-war) is pretty much exclusively facade.

7 years ago | Likes 2 Dislikes 0

Cubic yards?!?! Y'all americans are wild.

7 years ago | Likes 8 Dislikes 0

Yard is roughly our version of meter. 1 yard = ~.92 meters (so 1 cubic yard ~= 0.76 cubic meter)

7 years ago | Likes 1 Dislikes 0

Sad you didn't put in an actual skylight. Would have looked great.

7 years ago | Likes 3 Dislikes 0

too damn hot in Texas

7 years ago | Likes 2 Dislikes 0

Where will you make your sacrifices now?

7 years ago | Likes 4 Dislikes 0

you should have sealed off the area and used an exhaust fan to control dust.

7 years ago | Likes 3 Dislikes 0

Hindsight is 20/20

7 years ago | Likes 2 Dislikes 0

Well if woman don’t find you handsome...they should at least find you handy...

7 years ago | Likes 7 Dislikes 1

*women

7 years ago | Likes 2 Dislikes 1

I would have left the stripper pole!

7 years ago | Likes 36 Dislikes 0

Damn... You have a point

7 years ago | Likes 10 Dislikes 0

I had to do that same thing to my parents house. Sooooooo much more brick than I ever thought possible

7 years ago | Likes 4 Dislikes 0

Man, where did it come from?

7 years ago | Likes 2 Dislikes 1

I have no idea but I overloaded an 18' dump trailer with it all of it. Huge mess too. But it's way better now

7 years ago | Likes 1 Dislikes 0

We got the dumpster and loaded today and it's a bit over 10 cubic yards. Insane

7 years ago | Likes 1 Dislikes 0

That was dumb of the architect to put a fucking fireplace six feet from the front door

7 years ago | Likes 6 Dislikes 1

It created a foyer while placing an essential heating element to the central of the house. It made sense.

7 years ago | Likes 4 Dislikes 0

That would have been my motivation to rip it out. You have to walk around it to get inside???

7 years ago | Likes 5 Dislikes 0

Chimney fire right next to the exit, not good

7 years ago | Likes 1 Dislikes 0

As a person without a fireplace or chimney I find this project offensive.

7 years ago | Likes 4 Dislikes 0

Totally would have welcome you over to pick it up =D

7 years ago | Likes 2 Dislikes 0

How come everyone in south Texas, or south Houston, has a friend called Popeye? I'm no different, but when did it become law?

7 years ago | Likes 6 Dislikes 0

Everyone needs a Popeye in their life

7 years ago | Likes 3 Dislikes 1

I've had a Popeye, but never in the central cast. We also have Chewy, Bubba, Slimer, and La-lo.

7 years ago | Likes 1 Dislikes 0

If I remember right, the pink wood is treated to resist fire

7 years ago | Likes 4 Dislikes 0

No idea, i thought it was just a marketing gimmick for "locally sourced"

7 years ago | Likes 1 Dislikes 0

shit well who doesn't want a huge monolith in front of their door, middle of the room, really opens up possibilities.

7 years ago | Likes 261 Dislikes 2

Slows down the SWAT when they do a raid. Now you've lost precious seconds!

7 years ago | Likes 76 Dislikes 1

Gives a solid brace with an added 2x4 between the door and fireplace for swat, raptors, or zombies.

7 years ago | Likes 17 Dislikes 0

News Report: Waether experts predict record winter for Texas.

7 years ago | Likes 6 Dislikes 0

it's Houston that may mean a whole week below 40 degrees.

7 years ago | Likes 3 Dislikes 1

I'm guessing new carpet in the living room?

7 years ago | Likes 6 Dislikes 1

Yup, wood floors at least.

7 years ago | Likes 5 Dislikes 1

"Back away you thirsty bastards" but before you go, check out dat ass.

7 years ago | Likes 56 Dislikes 2

She got a dusty booty too! I love seeing my wife dirty from construction/gardening. We've got a little homestead and damn we get dirty.

7 years ago | Likes 3 Dislikes 1

So is she single?

7 years ago | Likes 2 Dislikes 0

v what I imagined op as when I’d read that.

7 years ago | Likes 8 Dislikes 0

As a straight married lady, damn she has a nice booty @op

7 years ago | Likes 4 Dislikes 0

Great job but what moron put a fireplace there in the first place?!

7 years ago | Likes 17 Dislikes 0

was a design feature i'm guessing... there putting them in new houses these days. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bJEmM5biJ1w

7 years ago | Likes 2 Dislikes 0

Make sense if it's another room on the other side, not the freaking front door. lol

7 years ago | Likes 1 Dislikes 0

It's a good central heat source, for the bitter Texas winters. Srsly though this design is good for heating and bad for everything else.

7 years ago | Likes 2 Dislikes 0

We couldn't figure that out either. The thing was massive, the living room is only 15x12 and the chimney was 6ftx5ft in the middle of it!

7 years ago | Likes 12 Dislikes 1

Its likely that the house interior had been redone at some point, leaving the fireplace orphaned in the middle of the room.

7 years ago | Likes 9 Dislikes 1

Normally a massive fireplace like that would have been part of a wall, but later addons and rearrangements left it where it was.

7 years ago | Likes 6 Dislikes 1

What about Santa ?

7 years ago | Likes 27 Dislikes 0

And you don’t even need that now. Whooops

7 years ago | Likes 1 Dislikes 0

He's got a magic key that can open any homes door. DUH

7 years ago | Likes 5 Dislikes 0

That guy only brought me coal, what gives?

7 years ago | Likes 6 Dislikes 1

Cause you knocked down his fireplace, duh.

7 years ago | Likes 3 Dislikes 0

Pressure's off. No need to be nice now.

7 years ago | Likes 2 Dislikes 0

He has to use the front door like everyone else.

7 years ago | Likes 1 Dislikes 0

As heating goes that was the best place to have had it.

7 years ago | Likes 8 Dislikes 0

I feel like the 2ft thick brick wall surrounding the chute would insulate the fire from actually radiating heat into the house lol

7 years ago | Likes 1 Dislikes 1

The opposite. All that bricks holds heat

7 years ago | Likes 2 Dislikes 0

Also creates a foyer while sectioning the front door from the living room. It is a legit design but "open" concepts are the new thing.

7 years ago | Likes 3 Dislikes 0

We don't want to see your hole, TMI. +1

7 years ago | Likes 66 Dislikes 2

Don't lie, I know what you really want

7 years ago | Likes 2 Dislikes 0

No dumpster: stack them at the end of your drive way for at least a day or two. Contractors passing by might take them away.

7 years ago | Likes 39 Dislikes 1

It's amazing what kinda junk people will take from the end of driveway just because it's free, although that much brick could come in handy.

7 years ago | Likes 13 Dislikes 0

For real. They take anything, especially if it has even the smallest amount of metal.

7 years ago | Likes 4 Dislikes 0

That ughh wasn't structural? Because it looks like it was structural.

7 years ago | Likes 24 Dislikes 1

Nope, fireplaces we're not allowed to be structural in 1978

7 years ago | Likes 20 Dislikes 4

Hahaha I wouldn't count on that preventing anyone from making one structural in 1978. Where's Mike Holmes when you need him.

7 years ago | Likes 10 Dislikes 0

Given the beer that was in there, hopefully it was a diy afterthought than an original builders construction

7 years ago | Likes 12 Dislikes 0

on a side note , just because something was not allowed doesn't mean they didn't do it ... specialy in the 70s :)))

7 years ago | Likes 20 Dislikes 0

Especially in Texas.

7 years ago | Likes 5 Dislikes 0

From what I can tell, the fireplace did not bear any weight at all. What makes you think it was structural?

7 years ago | Likes 10 Dislikes 2

I doubt it was intended to be structural (modern brickwork basically never is) but your roofline does appear to dip where the chimney was...

7 years ago | Likes 7 Dislikes 0

Good eye! it does dip a little, shouldn't affect waterproofing but ill check it out next time it rains

7 years ago | Likes 3 Dislikes 0

Just jump in the roof an wedge in a few support beams on the angle to push it up and one across to spread the load.

7 years ago | Likes 3 Dislikes 0

just curious, what was the pole?

7 years ago | Likes 4 Dislikes 1

gas main

7 years ago | Likes 4 Dislikes 0

Gas line

7 years ago | Likes 9 Dislikes 0

It looks like the joists go left to right, they interrupted 3 possibly 4 of them. The interrupted ones load the adjacent joists, which need

7 years ago | Likes 1 Dislikes 0

To be doubled, spacing looks like 24"centers which reduces the capacity. No second floor so maybe it's fine. Wouldn't pass where I live

7 years ago | Likes 1 Dislikes 0

This is good insight, thanks!

7 years ago | Likes 1 Dislikes 0

If you'd left the gas line on, you could have sped up the demolition process immensely.

7 years ago | Likes 1202 Dislikes 2

Was it gas? I missed that, looked like wood burning.

7 years ago | Likes 1 Dislikes 0

#lifehack

7 years ago | Likes 3 Dislikes 0

7 years ago | Likes 7 Dislikes 0

Who cares about fireballs? Texas loves those wildfires.

7 years ago | Likes 2 Dislikes 0

7 years ago | Likes 53 Dislikes 0

Hooch is crazy

7 years ago | Likes 8 Dislikes 0

Mr mosely???

7 years ago | Likes 3 Dislikes 0

v

7 years ago | Likes 7 Dislikes 1

I feel like everything else but that fireplace would have been removed

7 years ago | Likes 311 Dislikes 0

7 years ago | Likes 1 Dislikes 0

But your spider infestation would have also been taken care of.

7 years ago | Likes 4 Dislikes 0

As someone whos only job as a kid was shingling, you did a dam good job.

7 years ago | Likes 7 Dislikes 0

Don't forget to sell the bricks

7 years ago | Likes 42 Dislikes 0

Good job supervising and documenting the manual labor of your buddy and gf

7 years ago | Likes 624 Dislikes 2

Like all good partners. Sacrifices needed to be made.

7 years ago | Likes 6 Dislikes 0

You're damn right

7 years ago | Likes 167 Dislikes 2

Sorry friend, but you pointed it out, so I enjoyed that ass, and that transformation.

7 years ago | Likes 19 Dislikes 0

i thought you were going to make a skylight

7 years ago | Likes 8 Dislikes 0

"in comes skylight" okay cool... "close it" seems counterproductive, but alright.

7 years ago | Likes 6 Dislikes 0

Only if you assume they’ll always want it closed

7 years ago | Likes 3 Dislikes 0

But alright

7 years ago | Likes 2 Dislikes 0

U got work cucked

7 years ago | Likes 2 Dislikes 1