Bob Davis is a home remodeling contractor and fireplace enthusiast from eastern Ohio. Specializing in restoring older homes, he gets a lot of questions about chimneys. He decided to start this site after noticing the lack of information about chimney liners on the internet in the hopes of helping homeowners improve the safety and efficiency of their chimneys. His hobbies are golf and bird watching.How to Tell if Your Chimney Liner is Leaking
Do you think that your chimney liner might be leaking but you’re not sure? There are a few different ways that you can tell if your liner is leaking that you will want to know about in order to determine if you have a problem. It is nice to be able to sit in front of a nice cozy fire and enjoy a hot beverage on a cold winter day, but if your chimney is leaking then you will need to get it fixed before you light your next fire. If you want to know how to tell if the liner on your chimney is leaking, here are some tips.
One way that you may be able to tell if you have a leaking chimney liner is by looking for some common visible signs that occur when your liner is leaking. If you think that smoke is leaking out of your chimney or you can smell the smoke from the fireplaces in the rooms of your home then you may have a serious problem. You will want to check to see if you can see the smoke coming out of the chimney. If you do not have a fire going at the time that you check then you will be able to check by looking to see if there are any stains on the chimney. Stains on the chimney will let you know that smoke is coming out of the cracks that may be in the chimney lining.
There are a few different ways that your chimney liner could have become cracked or developed holes in it. One thing that you will want to think about is any upgrades that you have made to your fireplace since you have moved into your home. The liner that your chimney currently has may not have been changed during the upgrades and may be the wrong size or could be made out of a material such as clay that will cause it to crack or erode.
If you want to be able to sit back in front of your fireplace with a big cup of hot chocolate then you will want to make sure that your liner is the right one and that it is not cracked. It is not safe to light a fire with a cracked chimney liner, so until you have determined if that is the problem you will not want to light one. If you are still unsure after reading this information you may want to get your chimney inspected by a professional.
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Tagged with: clay liners, cracked liner, fireplace, flue liner, leaking chimney liner
Chimney Insert Guide
You may have heard of a chimney insert before and although the name gives some vague indication of what it is, you may be wondering exactly what it does and why you might need one. Chimney inserts first enter the minds of many homeowners when the term is tossed around in relation to a home inspection or remodeling permit. But what exactly does it do and why is it necessary? Let’s break down some basic information about the chimney insert.
As chimneys age, the effects of burning multiple fires in them over the years begins to take its toll on the structure of the chimney. You can’t necessarily see what is going on inside, but you can only imagine that with all of the heat and fumes from repeated fires that some damage is bound to occur. For example, the mortar in between the bricks of the chimney often begins to deteriorate, creating cracks and holes through which toxic gases and even flames can enter your house. In many older homes, the chimney is inside the house and built into the floor supports or other infrastructure, which means these dangerous byproducts of fires could easily enter your living space. Even newer chimneys are not immune to these dangers, which is why most building codes require chimneys to be lined, particularly those attached to fireplaces.
What a chimney insert or chimney liner does is protect the chimney from all of these dangerous gases and flames. It provides an extra layer through which all of these elements must pass before entering your home and causing problems for you and your family. It is simply a lining made of clay or other materials that covers the inside of your chimney for the gases to pass through on their way out of your roof. It also provides insulation, which improves the efficiency of using a fireplace for heating (not to mention keeping in heat generated by other heat sources in your home).
Perhaps you want a chimney liner insert for peace of mind, or maybe you have to install one to pass a home inspection or get a building permit. Several options exist when it comes to installing chimney insert liners. Although you can install a chimney liner yourself, most people prefer to hire a professional. If you are confident in your home repair skills, you can buy a kit at a home improvement store and lower the insert into your chimney, but this is not a straightforward process. If your chimney is not a standard size or has some curves, the extra money for expert installation will be worth it. After installation, it is important to get a chimney inspection every year or two to ensure it is still in good working order so you can continue to reap the benefits of a chimney insert liner for years to come.
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Tagged with: chimney fires, chimney inspection, Chimney liner, clay liners, fireplace, flue liner, inserts
How to Tell If You Need a Flue Liner
Not sure if you need a flue liner? It’s easy to be confused with all of the chimney advice and terminology out there. Complicating matters even more is the fact that each house is different, and chimney construction can vary dramatically depending on region, age, material, and many other factors. Here are some general guidelines that can help you determine if you need a flue liner.
First, let’s clarify what exactly we are talking about. The physical structure in your house that brings the smoke from the fire to the outside is the chimney, which in most cases is built onto an exterior wall of your house. Some chimneys can go up through the middle of the house to the roof as well, but either way, the chimney is the physical structure. What is inside the chimney differs from home to home, but you may find insulation or just a big empty open space. Generally speaking, the hollow area inside the chimney through which the smoke passes is known as the flue. Some flues have a lining inside of them, and this is the flue liner or chimney liner.
Not every chimney has a flue liner, and some that do may have one that is ineffective, outdated, or even worse… dangerous. Here’s how to tell if you need to install, update, or replace your flue liner.
- Your house is old. Particularly if it was built before the 1960′s, you are going to need a flue liner. Older chimneys were built without liners, and over time, the byproducts of the smoke can corrode the inside of the chimney. This may be difficult to detect, or you may sometimes see a sandy-type material fall down into your fireplace.
- Your chimney is leaking. You may suspect that smoke is leaking, smell fumes in other rooms that the chimney passes through when you use the fireplace, or you may actually see smoke escaping from your chimney. In some cases stains may be visible around the chimney. In any case, this is bad news and calls for a chimney inspection to determine the cause of the problem. A flue liner can normally solve this problem pretty easily, but if left untreated, it can be extremely dangerous for your family and for the structure of your home.
Your chimney liner is the wrong size. If you have updated a fireplace since the home was built, your flue liner may be the wrong size. Many older flues are too large for modern fireplaces and wood-burning stoves. Even if they do have flue liners, over time the liners can develop cracks, especially clay ones, which leads to gases escaping into the house and could eventually lead to a chimney fire.- Your chimney is on an exterior wall. If your chimney is on an outside wall, it is even more important to have a working flue liner and good insulation. Exterior wall chimneys are exposed much more to the elements, such as the cold, and this makes them more susceptible to damage and to eventual updraft problems. When it’s too cold, smoke could spill into the house if your chimney liner is too big, and it can also lead to too much creosote which is another cause of chimney fires.
The bottom line is that a flue liner is a very important part of a fireplace. Unless you are using electric fireplace logs, it is a good idea to ensure you have a properly installed chimney flue liner.
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Tagged with: chimney fires, Chimney liner, clay liners, creosote, fireplace, flue, flue liner, wood-burning stove