I recently had a damper put on the top of my chimney, and in the process of doing that the installer noticed that I needed some additional work. I’m in a 85 year old 2 story house that has a 9†x 13†clay tile liner. When looking down the chimney, he noticed that the tiles were offset a little and some mortar had failed. The suggested repair was to break out all the clay tile and pull a stainless steel liner down the chimney for $3200. Is there another option? Do you have to break out all the old tile prior to pulling down a liner? Could I just pull down a liner and keep the old tile in place. I also remember seeing on TOH that they poured concrete liner down the chimney. What’s the most cost effective option out there?
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On a side note, does failed mortar with the clay tile present a minor or major fire hazard? There is a brick chimney surrounding the tile liner.
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>>On a side note, does failed mortar with the clay tile present a minor or major fire hazard? There is a brick chimney surrounding the tile liner.
Subjective question, but in my opinion, major.
It is also a CO hazard.
But I'd go for a 2nd opinion, myself. Try to get an established chimney inspection comapny that knows waht a class II chimney inspection is and is equipped to do one: you want to have a video camera run the length of the flue.
By the second option do you mean pull down a new Stainless liner without breaking out the old tile? Is that an option? Based on my first quote it sounded like they had to break out the tile.
You can put a SS liner down without breaking tiles as long as the SS liner is big enough to support the exhaust of fireplace/furnace/gas heater/whatever.
Done it many times. There are also custom sized SS liners made to order available, maybe thru a local chimney sweep.
Mortar missing between tiles is not a good thing, especially on an interior chimney.
If it was on an outside chimney, venting a furnace, honestly I wouldn't be too concerned.
Interior chimney? fix it.
Rod
jaystl... inspect it yourself.. if the clay is in good shape.. there is no sense in adding a SS liner
the joints can be remortared.... use a loose mix.. fill a sandbag and tie a rope on it...
starting at the bottom, drop the bag in.. dump some of the loose mortar and work the bag .. forcing the mortar into the joints
there is no sense in abandoning a good clay liner..
now.. if the liner is rotten and crumbling... you need a new liner..
as to the problem of hazard.. maybe there is a hazard .. maybe not..
it depends on how the chimney was built.. a double wyth is pretty safe.. most hazards occur because the framing is either to close to the brick.. or sometimes there is even framin inserted into the brick
Mike Smith Rhode Island : Design / Build / Repair / Restore