Fireplaces, Heating Stoves, Flues and Chimneys - wood lined chimney sways in the wind

what can i do to fix it? are there bolts etc. in the attic possibly or do i have to climb up the roof - thank you so much for helping me out ..

whenever there is a strong wind, I can hear a lot of noise from the chimney and fireplace area - sounds like some steel is rubbing against something. Thats when I went outside the house to see what's happening with the chimney and it looked like it sways about 3-4 inches sideways. It is a wood sided chimney and is about 10 feet long.

You do not indicate how the wood chimney is attached to the structure. Contacting a chimney professional to inspect the chimney to make sure that no vents or seams in metal flue pipe have opened and recommended clearances are still intact is recommended. Unsafe chimneys are the cause of many house fires.

The wood frame for the chimney was probably attached to the house structure with nails. For whatever reason it sounds like the chimney frame is no longer attached. You definetly don't want to use the fireplace until either a chimney sweep has inspected the stove pipe or a carpenter [or you] have removed enough of the siding to both inspect and reattach the chimney to the house.

Do the chimney and the house share the same foundation? Is the chimney original to the house or added later?

Thank you for your replies. The chimney came with the house. I am planning to go up the attic today to check whether I can see how the chimney is attached to the house. Probably nails I presume. I will post the details later.

Ok, I did check the roof and the attic. It is like both of you said, the wooden siding seems to be breaking off the roof. It looks scary the way it sways. When the wooden siding sways, it hits against the chimney pipe and that is the sound I hear.

I live in Plano, Dallas, Texas. Any suggestions on someone I can call for an estimate?

Also any suggestions on how much it would cost to get this fixed?

Dont say what the top is here. Take the rain cap off the vent pipe. ThenYou might take off the metal top and rebrace is from the top down to the attic

Most carpenters and some handyman should be able to do the job. Always check references before hiring and get multiple bids.

I know squat about fireplaces, but couldn't stand getting in on this one. Did you guys read the head line of the OP? "Wood lined chimney"! I had to read to see what type wood it was lined with. Good answers.