Hey folks - again I need your wisdom.
We noticed some gunk coming out of the cracks in our chimney. Part of the chimney is exposed in our bedroom. Before we moved in the house, the chiney needed a repair. I called the compoany that did it.
A person came over and asked me whether the boiler was new. I said yes, it was. He then said after an examination that when the previous tenants had the boiler installed, the installers failed to take into account that it was an old house (100+years) and there was a pipe from a wood stove running up the chimney. It is now almost all the way decayed and the condensation was causing the gunk leakage issue as well as a risk of Carbon Dioxide. He was surprised we were still alive. He gave us an estimate of 2100 for the removal of the pipe and the installation of terra-cotta lining for the chimney.
We called another company who diagnmosed the problem the same way. They however gave us an estimate of 2100 to remove the pipe, cap it (with a life-time warantee), and line the chimney with (stainless) steel. They guarantee their work for 10 years and never mentioned the dangerous levels of carbon dioxide in my home (our alarm registers none).
I read on the web of options - aluminum linings, DIY, etc. I have ruled out DIY for many reasons. I have also read to beware of this as a 'scam". I have seen posts where the problem is ismilar, but not to the point. We obviously have a problem, and I am inclined to have the work done. Should I get one more estimate? What are the pros and cons of the various options? Thoughts?
Thanx.
Joshua Bayer