Bricks, Masonry, Asphalt and Concrete - Chimney needs repairs.

My chimney is in bad shape. The mortar is gone in several places. There are bricks missing off of the top (which is kind of scary, bricks are heavy, where did they go?), and I can actually see daylight through the chimney in some places.

The fireplace is bricked up, so it doesn't serve any purpose, other than the fact that I like the way it would look if it were not so ratty.

I got a few estimates for repairing the chimney, and they were all upwards of $1600. That seems excessively high.

This link...

http://www.gesealants.com/sealants/diy/homeprojects/homeexterior/repairchimney.shtml


Makes it sound relatively easy. Or at least doable.

What are the hidden gotchas I should look out for with such a project?

The house is 60-70 years old.

Is that link accurate in the explanation of the job?

Thanks.

Tough to say whether the repair shown on that web page will work on the chimney you described... My guess is the chimney should probably be torn down to the flashing and rebuilt, which is why the high price...Although, 1600 does seem a little high.

Labor costs vary a lot from place to place. In your area, the quoted prices from a few masons would likely be the range for the going rate. If you can see daylight through the chimney as you said, it is probably structurally unsound and needs to be rebuilt. Patching masonry without repairing it can be disappointing if it fails later on. For balance, you might get some quotes from chimney sweeps for the work.

Hope this helps.