The Non-Euclidian Staircase

First of all, here's the initial "problem", the cap that, thanks to deteriorated mortar, the wind was able to tear from my chimney.

Next, the chimney. From this angle, you can see the mortar that once held the cap in place, but not that the other 2 edges of the chimney actually lack this rim of mortar. And you can also see the lack of mortar between most of the bricks... it's all but just a stack of individual bricks.

And now, here comes the big basket truck of Crown Chimney!

They brought with them the new chimney liner, which you could see coiled above or here, all stretched out.

They lifted it up, tried to drop it down the chimney (all the while dodging the power or phone line that runs right in front of the house).

But, in the time since they cleaned out the chimney two weeks ago, enough brickwork inside had shifted to block their way, so they had to hoist a man up to inspect more closely than the basket allowed.

From that inspection, they were able to determine what they needed to clear up top, and proceeded to insert long rods from the basement up to the top, with which they knocked the obstructions clear (no photos of that, as it was quite dark in the chimney while blocked and uninteresting once unblocked). Then it was back up again.

This time, the insertion worked almost without a hitch!

All that was left was trimming the excess length and putting on a temporary cap.

And now, until it is warm enough so mortar will set properly, we wait. Bricks may fall loose in high winds, but the chimney itself is now safe. Come spring, the exposed portion will be torn down and re-built.

And then I can start looking for someone to reshingle the roof.