Chimney and Furnace Liners

There are several conditions that warrant the consideration to have your chimney relined. Some of these conditions are such fire hazards that you would literally be playing with fire if you did not have your chimney relined.

If any of these conditions exist in your home, you should consider having your chimney relined:

• If you have a wood stove insert that is pushed into an open fireplace. This completely changes the dynamics of how the chimney will draft. Most older non EPA certified inserts have 7” or 8” diameter exhaust outlets on the stove. When you try to vent one of these stoves through a chimney that is designed to vent an open fireplace, often the chimney does not draft properly. This condition may make the stove hard to light and will allow the smoke and or flue gasses to cool. (The cooler the flue gasses the more creosote will build up.) This can lead to very dangerous chimney fires. The 3rd degree glazed creosote can also cause a very unpleasant odor to enter the home.
• Another reason to reline is if you are in an older home, usually built prior to 1940. They did not put clay liners in the chimney. Therefore you don’t have anything protecting your home other than the old brick and mortar. Over a long period of time the old mortar can wear down and cause cracks and voids in the chimney. Heat will penetrate through these cracks and voids and caused what is called pyrolysis to the adjoining wood. Pyrolysis is the gradual turning of the wood to charcoal. Wood that has succumbed to pyrolysis will combust at very low temperatures compared to wood that has not turned to charcoal. Therefore time is not on your side. You can think everything is okay, after all it’s been that way for years. You’re enjoying a nice fire and the unknown pyrolysis exists. You get the right amount of heat and oxygen and suddenly your wall adjoining your chimney catches on fire. This is something you don’t want to gamble on and would have been prevented with installing a chimney liner.
• Other chimneys that have liners that are cracked or damaged either due to past chimney fires, age, or earthquake damage also need to be relined to keep the chimney safe.

A chimney cap does a great job at keeping moisture, leaves and pests out of your chimney. This is extremely important to the longevity of your chimney. Moisture, rain, wind, snow and ice are all enemies of the inside of your chimney. The more you block them from coming in the less damage they will cause. Having a chimney without a chimney cap is like heating your home and leaving the front door open. Water is the biggest problem with all types of chimney liners, so take steps to reduce the intrusion of moisture with a good cap. If you don’t have a chimney cap on your chimney, give us a call now.

It is the best long-term investment that you can make for your chimney’s sake. Chimney caps come in all shapes, sizes and materials. Most popular are those made from copper and stainless steel.