CHIMNEY LINING: HOW WE LINE & RELINE CHIMNEYS

While clay tile liners have been the building industry standard and do meet building codes, clay tile is not the best material for lining a chimney. By our interpretation of building codes, a chimney cannot be RELINED after construction with clay tile liners.

We line chimneys using stainless steel chimney liners. This is a corrugated flexible pipe that is specially designed to withstand temperatures of 2100 degrees - a temperature at which clay tile will disintegrate. Stainless steel liners are impervious to rain and water damage. The are not porous so they cannot absorb creosote or soot, and they are easier to clean and maintain.

Smoking problems? A properly installed chimney liner, installed in proper ratio to the fireplace or appliance opening, will cure many smoking fireplace problems. A stainless steel chimney liner will increase draft because the smooth metal and circular design allows smoke and fumes to rise faster and exit your home quicker. A properly sized chimney liner will offer superior chimney performance; the chimney will stay cleaner, help your appliance burn more efficiently to save energy dollars and offer maximum protection against dangerous fumes and against fire and water damage.

Whether your home is older and built before clay tile liners were required, or the liner has been damaged by chimney fire, settling, improper construction, poorly installed appliances that connect to the chimney or other problems, a chimney liner is your best protection to maintain a barrier between the smoke and fumes in your chimney and structure of your home.

Is it time for a redesign? Downsizing your chimney liner and installing a wood or gas fireplace insert will usually not only save on chimney lining costs, a fireplace insert will provide more heat from less fuel and cut your overall energy expenses. Learn more about fireplace inserts.

We'll gladly come to your home, provide a thorough chimney inspection and provide option for chimney lining or relining - just give us a call!

About CHIMNEY FIRES
In the old days, folks used to think that purposely igniting a chimney fire was the best way to clean out the chimney. This was a dangerous practice that led to untold house fires. Unlike fireplaces, clay tile liners are not designed to be exposed to high temperatures and when a chimney fire occurs, clay tile liners are almost always damaged during the fire.

In the photo above, we're looking up a chimney from the bottom. The white spot is the sky. Note the creosote deposits in this chimney and the cracked flue tiles. Vertical cracks like the one shown indicate chimney fire damage.
 

A chimney fire rarely cleans out the chimney, it just makes the remaining creosote deposits more flammable. Looking carefully, you can see missing chunks of clay tile (top left) and vertical cracks. This flue tile liner actually did its job; it contained the fire within the chimney and the home was saved. However,the chimney must now be repaired because it's severely weakened and would not stand up to a subsequent chimney fire.

Continued use of a chimney following a fire exposes your home to incrementally greater damage. The cracked tiles expand when the chimney is warmed while in use. Flammable creosote continues to build up within these cracks, now adjacent to the framing of your home. A second chimney fire is more likely as the ignition temperature of the remaining creosote has been lowered, and the next chimney fire is now more likely to cause structural damage to your home and jeopardize the safety of your family.