Bricks, Masonry, Asphalt and Concrete - cinder block supports?

My 50+ year old bungalow has a three block high "cinder block" crawlspace foundation. Floor of the crawlspace is poured concrete slab. The centre beam of the house is supported by numerous stacks of three cinder blocks. One corner of my kitchen floor slopes down toward the centre of the house. Not sure what is causing this -- except there is the remains of a brick chimney in the attic, above it, and there doesn't appear to be any amount of additional support beneath it either on the first floor or in the crawlspace. Would it be sufficient to put a few more stacks of cinder blocks down in the crawlspace beneath where the kitchen floor sag is most pronounced? I have no money at all to hire an engineer, or contractor to take a look at this. I *can* afford a few cinder blocks. I know it's not a great idea to jack up the floor any amount - I don't even really want to do that, I just want to know if putting the blocks under it to hopefully stop the sag from getting any worse, will actually work. The house was inspected and the inspector didn't find it alarming that there was no support for the chimney remains.

A related question -- how difficult would it be for me to dimantle the attic chimney remains myself, brick by brick? The chimney does not touch the roof of the attic in any way. Is this a safe undertaking? Would it be sufficient/safe to just lay down plywood sheeting around the chimney for me to stand on while I'm *attempting* to dismantle it?

Thanks for any input!

It is not easy, but you can do this yourself. I suggest you take a small hydrolic jack(car jack), and a piece of wood blocking, and place it underneath the part of the floor that is sagging. Place the wood blocking across the floor joist, and slowly jack the floor up. You can then slide the blocks underneath the floor and use wood shims as spacers. Then slowly release the pressure from the jack allowing the floor to bear on the blocks.

After you the block under the beam put a 1x8 or 2x8, then oak shims. Anything else will crush over time. Maybe not much but it will. Also use a water level or a 4' level. You can find the oak shims at a mobil home supply house.

Thanks, Brckman29 and zinger for your input.

This weekend marks my first year in my first owned home, and I for one am glad that both the house and I are still standing!! ;-) This weekend I *hope* to get up in my attic to examine what, if anything is going on with regards to my unnecessary chimney up there. I'll definitely report back here if I find anything deserving of a report...

When you start jacking up the beam don't try to get it all at once . Do a little at a time .Maybe start at one end ,jack it up alittle, shim it .Move down a bit jack again, shim it ,tighten the first shims. Continue on until it's level. One question. What supports the chimney in the attic. Good Luck,Z

That appears to be the cause of the kitchen floor sag. We can't find anything at all in the way of chimney support anywhere. That's why I'd like to get it out of there. I think it would take a great deal of stress off the house (and me). But like I mentioned, the house inspector who checked everything out didn't think that the lack of chimney support was an issue. Or do you mean what's keeping it upright in the attic? That I don't know -- didn't get the chance to venture up there just yet.