Chiminey Lining

I have been researching chimney lining to determine whether this huge expense is really necessary. (Most houses this is not a huge expense, for us it is $2500 per chimney, plus everything ends up costing at least twice what is originally quoted, so we are probably looking at $10K). We have a house with two masonry chimneys. They were built or rebuilt anytime between 1850 and 1994.They both burn wood. People were living in this house from 1836 through 2004 and using the fireplaces without anyone dying. Being that the house is 170 years old, it is not sealed like new houses. We use radiated heat (not forced air). We moved the house in 2006 (jacked it up, put it on a truck moved it and placed it on a new foundation). The chimneys are at least two courses of brick thick, maybe more.

What I am told is that:

  1. The chimney could be leaking due to cracks in the mortar from the move, or from the gases in the smoke eating away the mortar. It seems that this can be determined by placing CO2 detectors all along and below the chimney and building a fire. If the chimney is leaking, the detectors will pick it up.

  1. The gases from the woodsmoke will eat away at the mortar and block the flue and you will go to sleep and never wake up. This makes no sense to me at all. Eating away at the mortar will not block the flue. Besides, if the flu was blocked, you would know it right away when the house filled up with smoke (just like when you make a fire without opening the damper). I can see right up the chimney when the damper is open. There is no blockage (at least not since i removed the debris from when they removed the chimney tops for the house move).

I am looking for some realistic and practical advice. Paranoid statements like "Do not use the fireplace or everyone in your house will die" are not helpful. There are hundreds of houses of nearly the same age with unlined chimneys in our area and no one has died from fireplace fumes, at least not in the past 50 years.

We have smoke detectors in every room of the house and we are placing CO2 detectors all over the chimney as well as below the chimney 9in the basement I suspect that CO2 may be heavier than air), and leaving them there. We also will not leave fires burning at night.

My question is whether using CO2 detectors is a reasonably safe way to determine whether there are any leaks and to monitor for the possibility of leaks in the future.

Thanks

Reply to
Coldjensens
Loading thread data ...

Answer: No, that does not provide sufficient protection.

Answer: Your insurance company will not cover you if you are burning wood in an unlined chimney.

Answer: This is extremely dangerous. Chimney fires will most likely burn down the house if the chimney is unlined. This is doubly true if the brickwork is compromised as yours certainly have been from moving the house.

I would recommend a professionally installed stainless liner for each chimney you use for wood (I also strongly recommend *not* using clay tile liners, they will not survive a chimney fire.)

I would also strongly recommend a Fire Inspector check the setup when you are ready. (Not the seller of the liner, or a store, but call the fire department.) Most likely the insurance company will want a certification that the setup is safe.

Reply to
PeterD

You can buy the metal flue liners and install them yourself. It is really simple. You do however need a chimney liner without question.

Reply to
tmurf.1

Guys, please check for Chimney Swifts (east of the Rockies) between mid-April thru Mid-September. The babies usually hatch about July 1st. These birds (NOT Bats) are incredible. Also, they eat a lot of pesky mosquitos all day. They're currently due to start leaving the nest chimneys and roost in large groups before sundown in larger chimneys. They return to South America by Mid-October.

Reply to
RD

Put in a flue liner. You will glad you did. It is better to be safe than sorry.

Reply to
Bob Morrison

Flue liners are absolutely necessary when adding a high efficiency furnace or downsizing with a lesser load (such as removing a gas water heater, etc.)

CO is about the same displacement (weight) as air, and will probably move right along with it. If the chimney is indeed leaking, the CO detectors should pick it up.

Keep in mind that many CO detectors need to have new sensing elements replaced on an annual basis, so that is something you may wish to consider in your on-going cost if you do not add a liner.

Reply to
Dennis

HomeOwnersHub website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.