Anonymous wrote:Recently my neighbor opened up their chimney. For this process they hired chimney expert from Nassau county, as they have detailed knowledge and experience about the process. I would also recommend to hire experts for this work as they possess the necessary skills, knowledge, expertise for this field. By hiring professionals you can keep your chimney clean and in good shape is a good way to keep your family safe.

OP, I agree with getting an expert. It's not just solely and issue of cleaning out whatever they poured down the chimney and you're good to go.

This article mentions that a chimney retrofit costs about $5000:
http://www.latimes.com/local/la-me-quake-chimney-20140909-story.html

Granted this is talking about earthquake measures in California, however, the 2010 Haiti earthquake was felt in DC causing structural damage to landmarks like the National Cathedral but also managed to put many chimneys out of whack.

"Use of a cracked flue chimney can cause an indirect hazard when carbon monoxide enters a home or leads to ignition of a fire."
http://www.curee.org/organization/office/docs/2011_FEMA_E-74_Nonstructural.pdf

Please seek out an expert.

I wanted a new gas fireplace installed in the basement direct vent and we were told 8k plus depending on the fireplace. We decided it was not worth it.

NP. A family member just did this in a pre-WWII wood frame house. New fireplace is wood burning though. The whole job came in right about at 8k.

Sounds like a total nightmare of a job and will cost you a fortune and likely take ages. I would not do it.