How is Your Liner?
Is It Time To Repair Or Replace Your Flue Liner?
A damaged flue liner is no small deal — the liner is not only providing much-needed protection to the chimney masonry itself and the combustible building materials nearby, it’s also helping your chimney’s draft, and allowing it to vent harmful byproducts without gases and smoke leaking into your living area.
More often than not, you’ll become aware of a flue liner issue when Chim Cheree technicians come to perform your chimney inspection — which is part of why that annual appointment is so important. But if you start noticing draft issues or a leak, your flue liner might have issues, from cracks and gaps to fallen tiles that have created blockages.
Other than protection from the heat, your liner also helps ensure optimum draft.
If we find trouble with your flue liner, your Chim Cheree technicians will go over the specific problems and the best options for repair or replacement. But here are some of the more common responses when a flue liner needs to be repaired or replaced:
When Your Flue Liner Can Be Repaired
If you have a terra cotta clay flue liner that has some minimal joint cracks or small areas of surface damage, it might be possible to repair it using HeatShield’s ceramic refractory products. HeatShield has several different systems designed for different types of liner repairs, but whether we’re repairing liner joints or resurfacing your entire liner with HeatShield, the process leaves you with a smooth, strong, heat-resistant and smoke-tight liner that will allow you to feel confident about using your fireplace or stove again.
Chim Cheree technicians can inspect your chimney and assess your liner damage, and tell you whether HeatShield’s liner repair system is a smart choice for your chimney.
When Your Flue Needs To Be Relined
Depending on your specific chimney, Chim Cheree make recommend a new cast-in-place or stainless steel liner.
For chimneys that have seriously damaged clay tile liners, historic chimneys that don’t have a liner at all or older chimneys that would benefit from added strength and stability, we may recommend a cast-in-place liner, installed, as you’d assume, in place, using a strong, insulating concrete material. Chim Cheree recommends and installs Supaflu Chimney cast-in-place systems — we’ve had great results and pleased clients, and the company’s Limited Lifetime Warranty offers extra peace of mind.
In certain cases — like when a flue needs to be resized to work properly with a new appliance — we may recommend the installation of a new stainless steel liner. These are a durable, highly functional and long-lasting choice.
Are you worried about your flue liner? We’re always here to help. Just give Chim Cheree a call!