+ Why does my chimney need to be lined?

A chimney liner is necessary for three primary reasons:

• It provides an appropriate sized chimney flue for optimum efficiency, which also reduces creosote buildup. Depending on the type of heating appliance you have—a oil furnace, wood or gas stove,etc.—you will need to have a correct-sized flue for your appliance to perform at its best and safest. Combustion products must safely escape your house while your chimney generates draft enough to supply the appliance.
• Liners safeguard your house from heat transfer to combustibles. It’s been shown that nearby woodwork caught fire in just three and a quarter hours in unlined chimneys. Liners protect chimneys from this risk of rapidly moving heat.
• It protects brick and mortar from creosote and other byproducts of combustion. When highly acidic flue gases are left to eat away at chimney brick and mortar joints, there’s a reduction in the chimney’s usable life. Weakened mortar joints also allow heat to transfer more quickly to combustibles, putting homeowners at increased risk of carbon monoxide poisoning.

+ Reline with stainless steel liner

Though man has been using fire to heat and add charm to his abode for time immemorial, it’s taken centuries to figure out how to do so as safely and efficiently as possible. In the old days, chimneys would be built unlined, followed by a time beginning around 1900 during which clay tiles were often used to line chimneys. It was necessary to line all chimneys following National studies at separate times in the 1940’s and 1980’s which determined that unlined masonry chimneys are criminally unsafe. The advent of the chimney liner helped assist homeowners to enjoy their fireplaces and furnaces with less carbon monoxide poisoning, worry of fire, or troublesome problems like smoky or stinky living spaces. Flues of most masonry chimneys these days are either lined or have been relined using stainless steel liners.

+ What does a chimney liner do?

A chimney’s job is to contain the combustion products naturally generated during a fire and to direct these products outside of your home; a chimney liner helps a chimney perform that job far more easily. In fact, a liner serves all of the following purposes:

• In an unlined chimney, heat may transfer to adjacent woodwork, quickly posing a fire hazard, thus a liner protects your home from a chimney’s intense heat
• Liners protect masonry. Combustion byproducts can be very corrosive, wreaking havoc on chimney brick and mortar, which is already porous and susceptible to damage from acidic gases. A chimney with old fashioned masonry only will have a shorter lifespan but also can present greater risks of house fires and carbon monoxide poisoning.
• Liners corrects flue sizing issues. So as to work efficiently and to prevent excessive creosote build-up and other problems, a stove or furnace must be equipped with the proper-sized flue. If you see smoke inside your home or experience unpleasant smells, it may be that your flue is not the right size. By adding a stainless steel liner to a flue that is too big, the correct flue size can be achieved.
• Considerations On Stainless Steel Liners

+ Considerations On Stainless Steel Liners

Although we are passionate about how safe and durable stainless steel chimney liners are in oil, wood-burning, and gas applications, the truth is that your chimney may not require a stainless steel liner. If your chimney isn’t currently outfitted with a stainless steel liner, there may be other options for your system. A number of chimneys are still lined with clay tiles, which are affordable and can perform okay. However, please realize clay does not perform well at absorbing and distributing heat. Nor do clay tiles contain liquid combustion products common to gas appliances. Finally, in time, clay tiles will crack which presents a multitude of other risks. A separate option besides stainless steel is what’s called a “cast-in-place” liner, whereby a chimney is coated in a cement-like substance that reinforces it and protects it.

+ More Info

There are various good reasons to have your chimney flue lined. A chimney liner helps a chimney to do its job of protecting your chimney from the extreme heat generated by your heating appliance. The chimney liner also contains the byproducts of combustion and directs them safely outside your home. Moreover, chimney liners are great at containing chimney fires so that they don’t spread.

In addition, if your chimney does not have a liner then carbon monoxide can more easily enter your home. Liners protect chimneys from the corrosive byproducts of fire that weaken brick and mortar and penetrate it, allowing dangerous gases into your living area.

There are three main types of chimney liners—clay tiles, metal, and cast-in-place. Usually, older chimneys are outfitted with their original clay or terracotta liners, while new chimneys will usually always get a stainless steel liner. If your old terracotta liner has become cracked or broken, or if your chimney is missing tiles or mortar joints, ASAP Operators can provide the answer.

We can install a safe, durable stainless steel chimney liner with a lifetime warranty if your clay liner was damaged by a lightning strike or chimney fire.