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I love hammocks,
but finding suitably distanced trees in the right location—facing the right
direction—is tough. The solution is a hammock stand, and the choices you TIP
can buy are pretty straightforward: metal stands run about $150 and are No workshop
consistently rated “flimsy.” More robust (and beautiful) laminated wood stands required: a reason-
will set you back $400–$600 and beyond—not in my budget. So I set out to ably flat picnic table
design a beautiful, strong, wooden hammock stand for the cost of a flimsy will work in the
metal one. The design is surprisingly simple—it relies on 24 identical arcs, place of a couple of
cut from a single sheet of plywood and laminated in groups of four to form six sawhorses.
strong, curved beams. You make the super-handy drink/snack shelf with the
leftover plywood—it’s something that you won’t find on any other stand.
I designed this to fit my 9' hammock and the standard plywood width of
48". You can adjust yours by moving the fastening points along the uprights of the structure to make sure that everything
(you’ll want your bottom to swing free of the stand when you’re laying in it). is lining up properly. Use the offcuts to sup-
port the ends of the uprights at the correct
height. The uprights should overlap 8" on
to the base beams. You’re looking for a
smooth curve transition here.
2 Print out the full-size bolt template at
draw your arcs Laminating the beams cottagelife.com/hammockstand. Use heavy
1 Lay out the individual arcs that make up 1 Each of the six beams is made up of four paper or cardstock. Carefully cut out the
the beams (see Fig. 1). Mark a point on the arcs glued together. Prepare a flat, stable template and bore 1/8" dia. holes in the two
plywood 66.5" from one end, centered on area for the glue-up of your beams. Stack bolt locations. Mark the holes at the end
the short edge (this will be your first layout the arcs into six groups of four. If you’ve got of each upright, flipping the template over
mark). Mark the next point at 70", and con- some less-than-stellar cut pieces, reserve for the left and right sides. Then repeat the
tinue marking every 3.5" along the centre these for the leg beams as the underside process to locate and mark the correspond-
line until you’ve laid out eight arcs. won’t be visible on the final project. ing holes on the ends of the base beams.
2 Create a simple compass using two 2 Zigzag a bead of wood glue along the 3 Bore the 9/16" dia. holes using a sharp
washers and Mason’s Line. (Mason’s Line is entire length of the first arc, and line up the spade bit. Keep the drill and bit perpendicu-
important here because it doesn’t stretch.) second arc on top. If you have an 18-gauge lar to the surface to ensure all the holes line
Fasten the washers so that the distance air nailer, tacking the pieces together as you up properly. Tip: bore one set of holes first,
between the outside edges of the washer go with 1-¼" nails will help keep everything and insert a carriage bolt. This makes align-
holes is 66.5". Make the length slightly lon- aligned. Continue this process until you have ing the next hole much easier!
ger and tie knots to fine-tune the distance. three beams ready to clamp. 4 Insert the ½" x 10" carriage bolts through
3 Mark the arcs with an upright pencil in 3 You’ll need eight 12" or longer bar clamps the holes, and add washers and nuts. For
one washer and the other end held at the to accomplish this. (No clamps? See “Alterna- now, tighten these just enough to ensure
first layout mark with an awl. Someone tive to Clamps,” p. 64.) Alternate the bar everything aligns. ››
holding the awl here is a big help. Move clamps between the top and bottom edges
the awl 3.5" to the next layout mark, and to apply pressure evenly across the entire
repeat until the first eight arcs are marked. beam. Repeat this process for a total of six What you’ll need
beams. I like to leave my clamped assemblies 1 ¾" plywood sheet
Cut the arcs overnight to fully cure, regardless of what Mason’s Line and washers
1 Cut out the arcs using a jig saw fitted the cure time on the glue bottle says. Type II outdoor-rated PVA
with a new, fine-tooth wood blade. Preci- wood glue
sion is important here because the curves Assembling the stand 8 12" bar clamps
need to match up fairly well in the next steps 1 Once your six beams have cured, it’s time 4 ½" x 10" galvanized carriage bolts
to avoid a ton of sanding. Be aware of the to start assembly. Before doing so, cut 5" off with washers and nuts
sawhorse (or picnic table), and adjust as you the ends of the two leg beams using a hand- 4 ½" x 8" galvanized carriage bolts
go to avoid hitting it with the blade. held saw or powered mitre saw. These cuts with washers and nuts
2 Once the first eight arcs are cut, choose should be parallel to the end of the beam. 2 5
/16" x 6" eye bolts and washers
the best one to use as a template to trace The resulting offcuts are excellent for hold- Marine-grade spar varnish
the lines for the rest of the pieces. Cut the ing everything level while you assemble. 3 ½ x 1 x ¾" plywood cleats
remaining arcs with the jig saw until you Work on a large, flat surface, and position 8 #8 x 1½" wood screws
have 24 total. the four beams that make up the upper part

62 cottagelife.com OC TOB E R 2 0 2 1
 Fig. 1: Plywood layout

9.5" x 18" ellipse

for side shelf

24"

66.5" radius
Optional
Centre points for second shelf
first eight arcs
spaced 3.5" apart

66.5"
Fig. 2:
Contoured end
Compass with
Mason’s Line and
washers Attach shelf
with a small
cleat on each side

Eye bolt
fastening
point

Plywood
shim

1" block
Cut 10" off each
leg piece and trim
Fig. 3: the ends so the
stand sits level Fig. 5:
Upright Leg trim
bolts

Sand a flat surface

Fig. 4: on the top of each leg
Leg
bolts
Cut 5" off ends
9"
of each leg
PAU L LE WI S

5" Fig. 6:
Leg

OCTOBER 2021 cottagelife.com 63

 TIP
Use a belt sander to
smooth the beams and
Alternative to clamps shape the contours. An
A good set of lightweight bar clamps orbital sander works in
is an excellent addition to any DIYers’ a pinch, but it will
toolbox. I have 12 36" clamps that are take longer.
pushing 20 years old that I have used
on countless projects. But if you aren’t
ready to buy clamps, there are a few
good alternatives. You can place
dumbbells or weight plates on the
glued-up beams to hold them in posi-
tion. You can even use 20-litre pails
filled with sand or stone. Another
secret clamping tool is stretch wrap.
Look for those handheld rolls of poly-
ethylene film in the moving and stor-
age aisle at hardware stores. They are
excellent for applying a good amount
of pressure to glue-ups like these.

Prepare the legs

1 Before attaching the shorter leg beams
to the base and upright assembly, flatten
the tops of the legs by laying out the 9"
area as shown in Fig. 6, then use a belt
sander to remove enough material to
make the flat section.
2 Place the base and upright assembly on
top of the legs and manoeuvre them into
position. Measure and mark for the bolt
hole, then bore the 9/16" dia. hole through
the base and into the leg. It’s likely that your
iThe design of this stand is specific
bit will not be long enough to go through ito a “gathered end” hammock.
both pieces in one shot. As long as it marks iMine is from MEC.
the leg underneath, the leg can be moved
to one side temporarily to finish boring the
hole. Repeat this process for the other four
bolt holes, then insert the ½" x 8" carriage Contour the uprights be set below the surface of the uprights so
bolts, and add the washers and nuts. 1 The design of this stand relies on the end that the hammock can’t snag on them.
of the hammock resting across the top of the
Level the legs uprights. Use a belt sander to round over The shelf detail
1 In order to create maximum ground con- the ends of the uprights so that nothing gets 1 A feature that sets this stand apart from
tact and to ensure stability, the bottoms of snagged, then create a concave depression all others I’ve seen is the elliptic shelf fitted
the legs need to be trimmed parallel to the in the centre of the upright (see Fig. 2). This on one of the uprights. The shelf holds a
ground. To mark this cut, place a spirit level will prevent the hammock from slipping off. cool drink within arm’s reach. Download the
across the base beams and shim the legs 2 Finally, it’s time to get out your hammock pattern at cottagelife.com/hammockstand,
with scraps of plywood until the level reads and drape it over the uprights. First, deter- and lay out the ellipse on the remaining
true (see Fig. 5). Then, mark a line around mine the location of the eye bolts specific to piece of plywood—there’s room for two if
the perimeter of the leg with a pencil resting your hammock. Bore ¼" dia. holes through you want to add another to the opposite
on a scrap 1" block of wood. Trim the leg to the uprights and install the eye bolts, wash- end. Draw the ellipse by creating a loop of
the line with a small handsaw. ers and nuts. The washers and nuts should Mason’s Line around the three nails, then

64 cottagelife.com OC TOB E R 2 0 2 1
 N E E D A V I S UA L?

Watch the Cottage

Coach build it at
cottagelife.com.

Be precise when marking

iyour bolt locations—they
iwill be going through 9"
iof material.

iYou can adjust the height of youri iI used a long 33/16" drill bit to make pilot holes for the base-
ihammock by moving the eyei ito-leg connection. Alternatively, lay the holes out carefully
ibolts up or down the uprights. iand bore the 9/9 16" dia. holes without pilots.

remove the top nail, and draw the loop tight
with the tip of a pencil. Keep tension on the
Mason’s Line as you make your way around
the nails, and the result will be a perfect
ellipse. Cut out the ellipse, mark and cut the
notch, then set aside until the final assembly.
Finishing the stand
1 While you may be tempted to call it a day
and spend the next few hours enjoying your
new hammock stand, there’s more work to
be done to make sure your efforts last a long
time. Disassemble the stand by removing
all the nuts, washers, and bolts to make
sanding a whole lot easier. A belt sander is
the best tool for this job, and a 4" belt is bet-
ter than a 3" one. Secure one of the beam
sections with the concave face pointing
upwards. I used a couple of rubber wheel
chocks under each end, but a wood wedge
would work. The idea here is to stabilize the
beam while you sand. Using a 150-grit belt,
move the sander in long, smooth strokes
across the concave face to knock down
any high spots and level the four layers of
plywood. Flip the beam over to do the same
on the convex side.
2 Once all the pieces are sanded and the
edges are smoothed out, apply the finish
before re-assembling. Whatever colour you
choose, it’s important that this project gets
multiple coats of a weatherproof finish such
as a marine-grade spar varnish.
3 Finally, once all the pieces are dry, reas-
semble the stand and tighten the bolts for
good. The final step is to add the small shelf
at one end. Attach the plywood cleats to
the uprights with the #8 x 1½" wood screws
and wood glue, then slide the shelf into
position, and secure with a couple more
screws driven down into the cleats. Now
you can kick back and enjoy!a
Paul Lewis is a frequent Cottage Life contrib-
utor. He lives with his family in Calgary, Alta.

OCTOBER 2021 cottagelife.com 65


A well-cared for chimney is
a critical part of your cottage.
Are you doing the essentials
to keep yours working right?
BY
R AY F O R D
H E S TO N E H E A R T H at Tom Clark’s
Bruce Beach, Ont., cottage has presided
over four generations of family his-
tory—raucous card games, fishing tales,
even the anxious war years before Tom’s
time, when his father was overseas. “Those
were the only summers at the cottage my
father ever missed,” says Tom, a Texan
whose own northern pilgrimage has also
been disrupted, this time by COVID.
But the sands of time—or to be more
exact, the chimney’s shifting foundation—
haven’t been kind to the structure that
Tom’s great-grandfather built in 1922.
Now it’s Bruce Beach’s own Leaning Tower.
“It has moved seven inches in my lifetime,”
Tom says. Not only that but the chimney
is leaning on the cottage frame, so “the
floor is stressed, the door is stressed, the
ceiling, the roof, they’re all stressed.” Tom
is stressed too. “We don’t want to reach the
level of risk where it could fall on someone.”
That’s the thing about chimneys—they’re
the quiet types that you never expect to
act out. “People think of the chimney as a
simple exhaust system, but it’s more than
that,” says John Gulland, one of the origi-
nators of Canada’s Wood Energy Technical
Training (WETT) certification program.
Chimneys are among the hardest-working
structures in the cottage—“the engine
that drives the wood-heating system,” as
Gulland puts it.
Chimneys whisk smoke up and away,
shield the cottage from toxic combustion
gases and dangerous heat, and supply the
all-important draft for efficient burning.
But they’re also exposed to extreme tem-
peratures, corrosive condensation, stormy
weather, and red squirrels. Before your
chimney blows its top or keels over, plan
an intervention. Show it some love.
 “ T H E F L O O R I S S T R E S S E D, T H E D O O R I S S T R E S S E D,
T H E C E I L I N G , T H E R O O F, T H E Y ’ R E A L L S T R E S S E D.”

BURN
N OT I C E

Masonry chimneys like this one

are beautiful but lose marks
for their lack of insulation,
inefficiency, and the fact
that they require more
maintenance.

H E AT
E XC H A N G E

The best way forward may be

replacing the whole structure.
Or to preserve it, install a cast-iron
EPA-certified fireplace insert,
and add a stainless-steel
flue liner.
THIS PAGE: ERIN LEYDON. OPPOSITE: EBERHARD GROSSGASTEIGER

Get to know your inner chimney
WITH A ROAR LIKE A JET ENGINE, fire shooting out over
the roof, and combustion so intense that stovepipes glow red
and shake, the classic cottage chimney fire “is incredibly scary
when it happens,” says Jon Pegg, the fire marshal for the prov-
ince of Ontario. And it happens often enough: almost 19 per
cent of Ontario cottage fires between 2015 and 2019 involved
woodstoves, fireplaces, chimneys, and a statistical category
including hot ashes, embers, and sparks.
While smoke and carbon monoxide alarms and a cottage
fire escape plan are must-haves, so is checking your chimney
for creosote, the tarry remnant of incomplete combustion
that fuels chimney fires, and soot, the flammable residue of
unburned carbon (see “Know Your Creosote,” p. 70). Because
creosote bungs up a flue the way cholesterol clogs arteries,
the fire code mandates an annual chimney checkup—“whoo-
hoo,” you’re probably saying, “another seasonal rite of cottag-
ing”—as well as after a chimney fire, and when a new
woodstove, fireplace, or fireplace insert is installed. ››

OCTOBER 2021 cottagelife.com 67

 1
The chimney must
project no less than 36"
36" 2 above the highest point
at which it contacts the A N ATO M Y O F
CUT DOWN
roof and no less than 24" A CHIMNEY
4 higher than any roof line TO S I Z E
3 or obstacle within a
5 After a couple of floods over
horizontal distance of 10'. 1 CHIMNEY
the years, one in August 2020 took
CAP
out Tom Clark’s deck supports and
Many chimneys include
2 HIGH TEMP sidewalk, and shifted the chimney.
an offset, as shown here.
He hired a crew to take the top
A straight run is superior 6 CHIMNEY
half of the chimney down
to one with an offset as
7 3 ROOF to reduce its weight for
it means less turbulence,
safety reasons.
and therefore less FLASHING
creosote buildup. 2
A N D S TO R M
CO L L A R
8
9
10 4 ROOF RAFTER

5 AT T I C
11
6 S U P P L E M E N TA R Y
SUPPORTS
12
7 OFFSET

8 I N S U L AT I O N

9 AT T I C
I N S U L AT I O N
18" away from
wall for single-wall SHIELDING Dryden Fire Service fire prevention
pipe; as labelled for officer Jadie Scaman says the fire code
double-walled pipe 10 C E I L I N G J O I S T
doesn’t specify who must do the inspec-
11 C E I L I N G tion. Some insurers require occasional
S U P P O R T B OX WETT inspections, but in practice
13 many “annual inspections” are probably
12 F L U E P I P E
conducted by cottagers when they clean
13 E P A - C E R T I F I E D
their chimneys. Nevertheless, it’s a good
FIREPLACE OR
idea to have a WETT-trained inspector
W O O D S TO V E
or chimney sweep in to check the system.
14
14 M A I N F L O O R “These are technical issues, so hiring a
WETT-certified technician is the best
Chimney 101 bet,” Scaman says.
To keep your insurer happy (and
A chimney’s key attribute is “draft”—its ability to pull air from the stove or meet the fire code) you should also hold
fireplace up and out of the cottage. This natural flow through a bed of coals, onto inspection reports for two years.
for example, makes it easier to kindle fires and helps the blaze reach efficient At the very least, if you’re checking
combustion temperature. As a bonus, draft increases as the fire grows. “The your own chimney, snap a dated photo
greater the temperature difference between the exhaust gases in the chim- of the interior of the flue (the metal
ney and the outside air, the stronger the draft,”says John Gulland. Likewise, pipe or clay liner that conveys smoke
“the taller the chimney, the more draft it will produce.” up the chimney).
The most reliable draft comes from a straight, well-insulated interior On top of all that, clean your flue
chimney that emerges near the highest point of the roof. It’s an express whenever there’s more than three milli-
lane for the fire’s heat and combustion gases: they stay hot and ascend metres of soot or creosote—the thickness
quickly. This approach is most common with newer woodstoves and of just three or four stacked dimes. How
fireplace inserts. are you going to know when you’ve got
Almost any departure from this straight-up layout will slow the gases and 40 cents of creosote? You’ve got to look.
potentially cause headaches. Every 90-degree elbow in the system causes If you can safely get on the roof,
turbulent airflow, allowing flue gases to bog down in transit. Exterior chim- unscrew the chimney cap and peek
neys are cold, whether they’re brick or metal, making gases less buoyant. Santa-style from the top with a flash-
Chimneys that are too short or vent too close to a roof produce a draft that light, eyeing the edge of the flue pipe
is weak or unreliable. The results include smoky downdrafts; smoke that or liner to gauge the thickness of the
spills from the stove when you open the door; and that dank, sooty odour creosote. Creosote deposits tend to be
when the fireplace isn’t in use. Worst of all, these layouts tend to accumu- thicker near the top of the chimney,
late more creosote, making maintenance a bigger concern. where suspended tar is more likely to

68 cottagelife.com OC TOB E R 2 0 2 1

cool and condense, so the advantage of
looking from the top is that you’re seeing
what’s likely the worst part of the system.
If you’ve got a straight shot sightline in
your chimney, from ground level you can
look up through a conventional fireplace
through the cleanout on a masonry
chimney, or by removing stovepipes, or
opening the inspection port on a metal
chimney. You may also be able to look
up through the appliance itself when
the upper baffle is removed (check your
manual or consult with your stove
retailer—not all units permit this). Lower
reaches tend to be hotter and cleaner,
so if you have creosote plastered inside
PHOTOS: MIDDLE, ERIN LEYDON; RIGHT, DEREK SHAPTON. ILLUSTRATION: TAYLOR KRISTAN
your stovepipe, you’ve probably got a
bigger problem higher up.
Monitoring creosote is especially
important for wood-burning newbies, or
cottagers who’ve bought a new stove and
are learning how to operate it. Creosote
is your wood-burning “report card”: too
much, and you’re doing something wrong
with the stove, or burning wet wood. Once
you get the hang of it, and if you’ve got a
good installation and an efficient stove,
an annual cleaning should be sufficient.
Use a flashlight and mirror to see
around corners, or go high-tech: “I use
my iPhone and take a shot right up the
chimney for my customer,” says Sean
Mason, a second-generation chimney
sweep and the owner of Brent Mason
Chimney Cleaning in Sudbury, Ont.
Chimney detox
A THOROUGH SCRUB from a WETT-
certified chimney sweep ranges from about
$150 to $350, but the safety, maintenance,
and operating insights that come along with
an experienced sweep’s inspection could be
priceless. Even cottagers who do their own
sweeping should call a pro every few years
“just to be sure that no flaws have been
overlooked,” John Gulland says.
No surprise, then, that when fire marshal
Pegg bought his Georgian Bay cottage, “one
of my very first calls was to have the chimney
inspected and cleaned…I want the peace of
mind that my system is safe.”
Cottagers who do their own chimney
cleaning (ideally as a supplement to profes-
sional cleanings and inspections) should use
gloves, safety glasses or goggles, and a dust
mask to reduce soot exposure, and use a
chimney brush in an up-and-down scrubbing
motion on straight sections. Carefully remove
stovepipe elbows and carry them outside for
cleaning, because standard fibreglass rods
W H AT A B O U T will not negotiate a 45 or 90-degree bend.
T H AT O L D (Carry pipes out in a bucket to contain the
HAND-ME-DOWN mess.) Be sure to use polypropylene (plastic)
CHIMNEY ON THE bristles on stainless steel flues. “Metal never
SAUNA—DOES IT touches metal,” cautions Yvette Aube, the
MEET CODE? chief administrative officer or self-described
Maybe not, says “chimney chick” at AIM Chimney Sweep
Zigi Gadomski, the and Stove Shop in Midland, Ont. “All that
president of Wood does is score the interior and give the creo-
Energy Technicians sote a place to adhere to.” Check for buildup
of British Columbia. in the fall so you can address any repairs that
“If your metal chimney need to be made before winter, and aim for
is painted, galvanized, annual cleaning in the spring, so creosote
aluminum, or square, sitting in the system doesn’t cause corrosion
you should not during humid summers. And remember, use
be using it,” he says. a brush that’s the same size and shape as
“It’s probably your chimney—square brushes in square
at least 40 years old.” chimneys, round in round. Sweeps get hired
to fix all kinds of DIY errors, including stuck
brushes and rods.
Finally, chimney cleaning logs and soot-
removing chemicals won’t do the job alone,
and may cause flammable particles of creo-
sote to fall off the liner and collect in the
system’s horizontal surfaces. Only use
chemicals “if you’re guided and schooled by
a chimney professional,” says Aube, and as
a stop-gap before a professional sweep. ››
OCTOBER 2021 cottagelife.com 69
 Know your
creosote
Stage one
Dry, brownish-black powder
that’s a mix of soot and
creosote. Brushes off. Sign
of a clean burn.
Stage two
Black, sticky flakes.
May require professional
sweeping. A sign the fire is
starved for oxygen, often
because the air intake is set
too low for good combustion.
Stage three
Glossy black tar. Requires pro-
fessional tools and chemicals.
Highly combustible result
of wet wood, poor burning
techniques, a cold chimney
with poor draft, or all three.
Creosote
deposits
Bad sign
When stage three creosote
ignites, “it puffs up to 1,400
times its original volume. It
looks like an Aero chocolate
bar,” says Zigi Gadomski,
president of WETBC. Traces
of puffy, black creosote on
the chimney cap, roof, or
ground could mean you’ve
already had a fire.
Other problems
Nests, leafy debris, forgotten
tools. “We got a call once:
‘Our chimney’s not work-
ing!’” says Yvette Aube, of
AIM Chimney Sweep and
Stove Shop. “Turned out
there was a plastic chimney
brush stuck in it.”
70 cottagelife.com
Seek liner wholeness
“the most vulnerable part of
F R A G I L E C L AY L I N E R S A R E
masonry chimneys,” John Gulland says. Whether the flue is
metal or clay, eye it for gaps, cracks, or holes after cleaning.
(The classic hack is lowering an automotive trouble light—a
bulb in a protective cage on a long cord—but a powerful battery-
powered LED lantern would work too.) Cracks caused by high
heat can allow a flammable mix of creosote and water to seep
into the bricks and mortar, leaving telltale dark stains.
Replace liners that are broken, cracked or—eek—completely
missing with rigid or flexible stainless steel. (Some people
choose to add ceramic fibre insulation as well.) It’s a fiddly job,
so budget roughly $2,000 or more for professional installation.
Put a lid on it
need regular maintenance,
“ STO N E A N D B R I C K C H I M N E YS
most frequently from the top,” Gulland says. Whether metal
or masonry, well-dressed chimneys require a cap to prevent
T H E W O O D S TO V E water from mixing with creosote to form a corrosive slurry.
Masonry units need an additional cap (also known as a
“DASHBOARD”
crown), to seal moisture out of the top of the structure and
Everyday signs deflect rain away from brick and stonework. A flexible bead
of clean burning of silicone in the “bond break” between the cap and clay liner
allows the clay to expand and contract without letting rain in.
1 The only way to check the crown is to climb up there and
Glass on woodstove have a close look. Because damage is invisible from the ground,
or fireplace insert is “nobody notices the problem until there are bricks lying on
clear, or with only a the grass and the deck,” Sean Mason says. “We rebuild four
slight haze after an or five chimneys a summer. For ninety bricks and a metal cap,
overnight burn you’re looking at around $2,000.”
2
Firebox deposits are 1
tan or light grey O U T S I D E I N S TA L L AT I O N
O F A M E TA L C H I M N E Y
3
No visible smoke 1 CHIMNEY CAP
from the chimney
2 HIGH TEMP
when fire is hot
CHIMNEY 2
4 3 FLEXIBLE SEALANT
3
Chimney cap that’s 4 ROOF FLASHING
relatively clean A N D S TO R M CO L L A R
and shiny
5 ROOF RAFTER 4
5

Find balance
widening gaps between
A R E YO U S E E I N G
chimney and flashing, roofing, and sid-
ing? That’s bad news: your hulking five
or six-tonne fireplace could be shifting.
“It’s a warning sign,” says Kim Pressnail ,
a professor emeritus in civil and mineral
engineering at the University of Toronto.
“You need to find the root cause and solve
the problem. You’re dealing with a struc-
ture that could kill someone.”
For minor leans, one option is a partial
PHOTOS: THIS PAGE, ERIN LEYDON; OPPOSITE, DEREK SHAPTON. ILLUSTRATION: TAYLOR KRISTAN
demolition: hire a contractor to lop off the
masonry above the roofline (as in photo
above), reducing the chimney’s heft so it’s
no longer teetering towards destruction.
With the base stabilized, a WETT pro
can install a fireplace insert and factory-
built metal chimney atop the remaining
masonry. You’ll likely pay at least $6,000,
not including the partial chimney demoli-
tion and any additional repairs that the
cottage needs from the strain caused by
the lean. Aube says a rebuilt or partially
rebuilt chimney will run you into the
thousands of dollars.
As for shoring up the chimney, options
include jacking up and stabilizing the
structure, excavating under it and pouring
an expanded foundation, or underpinning
it with helical piles—metal, augur-like sec-
tions that corkscrew into stable soil. These
are complex approaches, likely to run well
OUT OF THE
S TO N E A G E
The Clarks plan to remove what
remains of the 99-year-old chimney
and rebuild the exterior wall, floor,
ceiling, roof, and interior wall
using materials that honour
the spirit and history of
the place.
into five figures. You’ll also need to find an experienced
mason and an engineer with a good grasp of foundations,
structures, and the load-bearing capacity of local soils.
In other words, it can be done. But should it be? Given the
time, money, and construction safety challenges involved in
righting a chimney with a bad lean, Pressnail says outright
demolition and replacement is likely the simpler and cheaper
option. “I feel for people who have chimneys with sentimental
Pressnail recommends value,” he adds. “But if you can’t afford to fix the chimney
burning seasoned
wood, installing a
properly I think the best practice is to take it down.”
thermometer on your Back at Bruce Beach, the Clark family is grieving their
chimney to help you fireplace’s slow decline. “For 15 years, I think we’ve been
burn at the proper thoroughly analyzing all the possible options. We’ve been
temperature, and
using hardwood trying to make a decision as a family,” Tom says. The ver-
rather than softwood. dict? Three or four years from now, the Clarks will likely
gather around a natural gas fireplace. It’s safe, convenient,
and much cheaper than restoring the old hearth as if it was
a museum piece. But it’s still sad. “It hasn’t been an easy
decision,” Tom says.
As for the rounded, glacial stones his great-grandfather
assembled in 1922, Tom’s been joking for years that they
want to return to the beach. Soon they will. “I want to use
them in a decorative, memorial kind of way,” Tom says—
maybe as a garden wall, or a bench with a good view of
Lake Huron sunsets. Though their time near the fire is
ending, the rounded granite, quartz, and gneiss of the old
hearth will continue on as links to—and witnesses of—a
new century of Clark cottage history.a
Ray Ford is a long-time Cottage Life contributor and volunteer
firefighter near North Bay, Ont. He heats his home with wood,
and so far—fingers crossed—hasn’t had a chimney fire.
OCTOBER 2021 cottagelife.com 71