The bats were inside the chimney earlier this spring/summer. Since this was during bat season, and there would be no way to "hand remove" the young, we waited until this week to exclude them. During that time, we closed off the chimney opening on the inside of the house. Once that was done, I think it moved them all the way up to the top of the chimney -- I'm assuming maybe because the air currents on the inside of the chimney changed when the inside was closed off.

anyways -- the roof around the chimney was compromised due to being an older house with severe water damage on the roof decking (rafters were still good). Original plan was to rent a boom and fix the chimney cap. After I got over there with a boom, I realized I had overlooked 1 important detail -- the entrance cable was right where I needed to put the boom -- so that axed that idea -- luckily the rental company did not charge me for it -- i WILL be doing buisness with them again.

So now what?? Hope you have a friend who is a brick mason and has scaffolding and you can talk him into giving a hand and some equipment. So we set the scaffolding up, and when I got to the chimney, we found out that all the bats were under the chimney cap on the outside. Being that high up on a walk board and trying to dodge 50 - 75 big browns flying out from under a chimney cap sucks!!!

So, what was learned here. I like the scaffolding better than the lift for a job like this even though it is more labor intensive -- why -- because It don't jerk around and get blown around by the wind like a lift, and I can put it up where I need it. It also doesn't cost the homeowner what 2 to 3 days of lift rental would--and I don't have to worry about a lift not reaching where I need to get. I can charge for the setup/removal of the scaffolding and that $$ goes to me and hired help instead of to the rental company, and it will usually save the homeowner some $$$. I also learned that I don't like bat removal that much -- most of the jobs I have had have been a real pain in the @$$. I also learned that I way underbid this job--not necissarily a bad thing, I will just be better prepared the next time. Luckily I had a few folks to help me out with the scaffolding and the homeowner was really understanding -- they were to the point they just wanted them gone--and i still came out ok and gained some valuable experience and did not loose $$.

Excellent post!!! That is what this forum was designed to do; share useful information!

It looks like you could have done that with a 32 footer and a step ladder with 2x4 shims to level it out. Maybe I missed something?

Chimney top looks like ~7' above roofline, pitch looks like about 4/12...if roof is rotten and needs replacement anyway, just nail some good lumber to the rafters. No big wup.

the lower roof was about a 4/12, the upper was around a 8 or 9 / 12. I had to get to all 4 sides of the chimney to seal up the underside of the cap -- cap is not on in the pic. It was the box type that sits on top of the chimney and the lower "box" slides down over the brick on all four sides down about 8 to 10". since the chimney was not square, the cap was made wider than the chimney allowing about 3/4" to 1" gap around all 4 sides. this was a older chimney, and I nor the guy that helped me(who builds chimneys for a living) was comfortable putting a ladder against the chimney. for me it would have been hard as heck standing on a ladder to lift the cap over the top of the chimney with all the bats flying out, and trying not to drop the cap. Sorry I didn't take a pic of the cap.

had the cap just been the flat style then we could have worked it from one just side. and if the entire roof was just a 4/12 in decent shape, it would have not been a problem.

I'm sure that some who have tackled a lot more jobs than me may have a better idea and I am all ears - -always looking for a easier safe way to get the job done.

But, believe me, we looked and discussed all options we could think of before setting that up--it was WAY labor intensive, but you had plenty of room to work and set tools, and to me was a lot safer than trying to manage off a ladder. And if you are more comfortable in your working area you tend to do a better job.

How long did it take to set that all up and take down

awesome..... just curious if the attic electric roof fan was properly screened?

How did you reach the other side . Did you move the scaflolding to the other side

Doesnt look like a difficult access from the photo shown. It appears there is a door which means a porch or deck is directly below that roof line. Seems to me that would have been a handy access to the roof with a 16 ft ladder and a ridge hook to the top if it is steep enough to warrant it.It looks accessable without assistance from the photo.An adjustable leg ladder can straddle the ridge and lean against the chimney. Maybe I dont see something in the photo but it looks like a routine job for us to do.

thats what i was thinking, but the pictures might be deceiving.

[quote][/quote]Maybe the chimney chase was wobbling around . Could run bracing on it like you do when back filling a basement . Freind of mine has a crane with a basket . 110 foot of reach . He can setup in the driveway and put you anywhere around the house . If anybody needs something like that let me know . He's a very good opperator . Just need to get your hand singles down first . fly around the house like your superman

pesky, it took about 3hrs to set up and about the same to take down. as far as the other side, I was able to stand on the roof on the upper side and access the rear along with the other side. We were able to get the front and the side towards the scaffold from the scaffold side.

Bud25 we screened it along with all the gable vents while we were there.

Bob Jameson your description would work in most cases -- only thing is I didn't have a ladder with a roof hook, and we did not feel comfortable putting a ladder against that chimney due to loose bricks and mortar at the roofline. The chimney is not useable for fire purposes.

The chimney cap comes down to the red/white line on the chimney in the pic. that is where the bats were roosting under the cap.

the pic may look a little decieving, wish i could have took more pics, but due to time constraints, we had to get it down thursday and I didn't have time to take more pics.

I have a very good friend that used to work construction and he was in charge of setting up and taking down all of the scaffolding. He told me that it's a very full time job on most construction work. Osha is very anal about not having time lost on the job. Since we've had one guy ( that we really miss ) gone for several months, due to a very short fall and a broken knee cap, I take a little different view of safety lately.

Paul, I'm right there with you. 2 yrs ago I had a 24 foot ladder slide out from under me and i fell about 20 feet. luckily only broke 1 small bone in my wrist, but that put me out of work for 3 months.

I can tell you first hand, falling that far and hitting the ground hurts like heck. I have been hit by bulls to horses, etc, but that by far was the worst i ever had. I look at each job differently now and determine if i can safely set something up to complete it before i even take the job. Some I will walk away from, cause it is just not worth the risk.

firedawg, you sound like my southern twin. Fell two stories landed on my head and spent three days in the hospital.

Got kicked in the face by a bull and spent three days in the hospital.

Got kicked in the face by a bull and spent three days in the hospital. [/quote]
Sorry to hear that. Was the bull badly hurt?

duck tape. When duck tape doesnt work, your not using enough. Thats how you get rid of bats. That will be all today class..

Good question Dave. Kinda shows you how things have changed. I was sixteen when the bull nailed me and my dad made enough by selling the bull to pay for my hospital stay. ( Probaby $60 or so )

yep, sounds about right!!

i have had situations like that before, i used a little giant ladder, put it over the roof peak, use a heavy duty tow strap secured around the ladder about 3' from the bottom so the ladder can't flex out and then use another tow strap to secure around the chimney to prevent the ladder from tipping to the side, then you can reach it, have had to do that trick several times and being a big man of 6' 9" tall and 375 pounds i can tell you it is safe