I own a property that has a brick chimney that extends maybe 10 feet or so above where it comes through the roof at the back of the house. The property that I own is a "twin" home -- meaning two single family homes that are attached with a common wall in between -- I own the home on one side and my neighbor owns the home on the other side. My side is a rental property that I have rented out to a family, and my neighbor on the other side owns his half and lives there.
The chimney is actually two chimneys in one. It goes up along the inside of the back wall along the party wall line, and my half of the chimney is for my home and the other half is for the neighbor's home. The combined chimney was originally brick and it now has stucco over the brick on all four sides. The stucco is starting to deteriorate in a few places and the chimney looks like it may be leaning a little. So, I am going to have a chimney person look at it and tell me what he thinks it needs etc. It may just need to have the stucco repaired or redone or it may need a lot more than that.
What I am wondering is, if it turns out that the best thing to do is to take down the existing chimney and replace it, are there other types of chimney construction that could be used for the replacement other than brick or block? Both houses have aluminum siding and no brick, and the chimneys in the back, so there is no need for a new chimney to be made of brick or anything fancy. Even metal chimneys would be fine with me (and probably my neighbor) if there is such a thing for this type of application.
The heaters for both houses are gas-fired steam radiator heat and the hot water heaters are gas hot water.
I found the following link that gives some guidelines for how high the chimney is typically supposed to be in relation to the roof:
I'll be asking the chimney person these same questions, but I thought I'd also post the questions here beforehand to get any ideas or suggestions anyone may have.
Thanks.