J. E

i have a bungalow 1-1/2 stories, brick chimney running right up the middle of the house. the inspector when i bought the house said the brick was shaling i believe he said...the brick coming off in pieces, and would need to be replaced. there is nothing connected to this chimney. the water heater and boiler are in the back of the house and have their own vents. there is a gas fireplace in front of the chimney, but it is vent-less and in no way tied in. instead of repairing, i'd like to remove the chimney completely, possibly in stages starting with the portion above the roof. then the upper floor, and lower floor later. this would allow me some more freedom when remodeling the affected rooms. i see no point in repairing something that isn't even functional. is this something i can do myself? anything i should be aware of before i start?

i have an air compressor with a 20 amp, 3 prong, 240 volt plug. my garage is wired for 240 volts, but it uses these giant 30 amp, 4 prong outlets. i don't want to have to completely rewire the wall (i'd have to run new smaller gage wire and everything) if i can help it. can i make an adapter cable of some kind? or perhaps just change the plug on the compressor?