Fireplaces, Heating Stoves, Flues and Chimneys - Chimney chase

I have a client that has a chimney chase badly in need of repair- it is wood siding and has rotted badly especially at corners. The flue may need work, also, as she had a sweep out that told her he couldn't safely clean it- as she would be tempted to use it. Is flue repair/chase rebuilding relatively straightfoward and where is a good site to get info? Many thanks

I often refuse to clean chimneys that will present a danger to myself or others just by simply cleaning it, e.g., chimney chase is in need of repair and can not support my weight fpr me to stand on the top of it.

Going into a little more info than needed, but want to explain a couple of things. This persons chimney chase probably has severe rotting due to the fact that the siding should have been placed a minimum of 2 inches above the roofing material. The reason for this is to prevent what has happened here. Unfortunately, those directions are in the roofing material installation instructions and the roofers don't build the chimney chase, and the ones that do don't read the roofing material installation instructions.

Second, this person might have also have had a poorly designed rain pan (chase cover) or one that has rusted through, allowing water penetration. I personally have had to rebuild several chimney chases from the roof line up and sometimes have to rebuild the entire chimney chase. Only once did I have to replace the metal chimney and fireplace itself due to water penetration.

Ask for some video documentation from the sweep and get a second opinion. Here is a web site to find a Certified Chimney Sweep which will have certification credentials from the Chimney Safety Institute of America: http://www.csia.og

Here's a couple of others:

http://www.ncsg.org

http://www.chimneys.com