Your saying the "Wash"is the sloped area at the top of the chimney on the last course of brick?

Even so, there is a slight crack between the flue and the last course of brick. Doesn't it make sense to have that area to be able to expand (hence caulk) and to prevent water from freezing in the crack.

You agree, tar is ugly.

I don't understand the "burlap thing". Is that basically to slow the curing of the cement, buy covering it with wet burlap?

The same as a drip edge keeps water running off the edge of a roof, I suppose a precast "wash" depending on how it's made can throw the water away from the chimney just like a drip edge.

Since I started as a mason in 76 we just set the flue and use mortar for the " cap wash" right up to the flue NO gap. Imagine building a 100 houses and waiting for the mortar to cure to apply caulk. We use broken pieces of brick for an aggregate if it's a big fireplace chimney because the mortar wash get thick at the flue in slope from brick finish face to flue.
When it hot we wet the flue, use mortar to make slope. Then we burlap to protect from sun shrinkage. Come back and re wet tear down scaffolding. After 30 days a clear sealer is a good way. But that last for how long to a chimneys life? Never heard "well its time to scaffolding up or ladder up and apply more sealer on my chimney"
It's the Anal thing I guess. And the out of sight out of mind.

Hey, what you said makes sense. I did find out that the chimney was done before by someone else, so that's why it looks so crappy. Excess cement everywhere. Fortunately, this side is not seen.

The pic is my chimney that I did. I went and took a picture yesterday. The caulk is holding up well. The wash has a few fine cracks in it, so it appears that the mortar used for the joints is not the same as the required for the wash. The way the chimney is made, it does create a ledge similar how a drip edge does.

I was able to do it all from the roof, but reaching over was scary.

Almost all chimneys have a crown on it. The crown you have ithere in masonry terms is/ One out one flush?

One out means corbel a brick away from the wall 3/4 to 1". One flush means another course on the one out laid flush.

I laid some nice fancy ones on big chimneys that was.. 3 out / 2 flush/ 2 in / 2 flush Which is 2 feet of chimney top. 9 courses laid to the 6 on brick spacing rule is 24"

The largest single house chimney I built was for 2 wood stoves and 2 fireplaces up through the center of a house. One chimney out of the center of the roof.

The main fireplace was in the middle of an open room and you can look through it. Open on both sides.

The biggest chimney I laid up was fire brick dipped in fire clay that became the flue and served about 24 heat plants. I could sit in the crock.

21boat:

That's pretty impressive brick work. For the most part brick laying is time-consuming and working in the hot sun. Occasionally one can get a little artsy.

The neighbor did the pic attached and my father cut all of the bricks when he was out of work many years ago. He definitely gets a littly artsy. He has a brick bar and he loves to make arches. Even one of his shed roofs is a semi-circle.


So, guess what the picture is of?

Bet you have never done one.

I know I have to re-lay some stepping stones. I need to do it right. Plan to put yard fabric underneath and use about 2" of pea gravel before setting the stone.

KISS

Looks like a doggy door. Or a coal shut access.

I do some very fancy brick work and Stone work. My brick work has been in the Garden House Magazine. Also to wards your neck of the woods I did the exterior Flag Stone in Long Wood Gardens where the ponds are. That arch there is similar to what I did when I was 18. It was for the back return walls for a wood stove set up. I laid the arches and had the bottom brick stepped 3 times for a small shelf/ Inside the arch I put a rough swan swan stained 3/4 to fit inside the arch.

Back in early 80s I did a big wood stove set up had three different sizes arches. On the wall. Looking at wall to upper wall was and an stepped out arch. The middle was a giant arch of half bricks that reflected the Vermont wood stove. To left of that was a brick wood box , Arch in front with again rough sawn lumber arched door. The box was 26" about 40" wide and 30" high with a flagstone cap. This wood box can be filled from the outside. Above the box I built two brick piers 12" from wall and flagstone shelves. The box was two course above hearth. Stove hearth was 3 courses and to right was one course for entrance from a door.

Most of the times people can't afford creative brick work. I did a fire place with brick laid at a 45 degree angle opposite sides of the same wall. Snap a line in middle of fireplace opening and two perfect meeting diagonal brick walls. A dry laid stone Pier on each end and a raised fire box and raised stone hearth. Brick where brown/tan Wire cut brick and raked out joints tooled.

Yep, it's a doggy door. The other side has a real door with a tiny window in the top and a lock with a key. The inside was my doing when I was a kid. The flap was some Ozite indoor/outdoor carpet.

Just this summer I got a tour of the basement of Longwood gardens where all of the PLC's (Programmable Logic Controllers) are controlling the exhibits. It was really a neat tour. Hard hats were a must.