Work on the chimney footing was a bigger job than the Woodford crew had anticipated.
They used pile drivers to sink steel posts through the sand to bedrock. Steel beams were slid under the fireplace base and attached by large brackets to the posts. These were used to lift the chimney before pouring the new concrete footing below.
When estimating the project cost, the fireplace/chimney weight had been figured at 40 tons. Gauges on the pneumatic jacks used to lift it indicated the weight was actually 80 tons.