A single wall brick chimney is extremely hazardous. The purpose of a liner is to protect the house from heat transfer to combustibles. An unlined chimney allows enough heat to transfer through and ignite wood structures in just a few hours. Liners also protect the chimney structure from the corrosive byproducts of combustion. If the flue gases penetrate to the brick and mortar the usable life of the chimney decreases. Flue gases are acidic and literally eat away at the mortar joints from inside the chimney. Heat transfers more rapidly to the nearby combustibles and dangerous gases such as carbon monoxide can leak into the living areas of the home. Liners allow for a correctly sized flue, improving the performance and safety of the appliance being vented. An under or over sized liner can allow the production of carbon monoxide which then leaks into the structure.

Your current chimney liner is cracked or damaged

Your current liner could be damaged due to incorrect sizing, lack of cleaning, thermo shock, chimney fire, or just general deterioration from acidic flue gases. Just as a car muffler needs periodic replacment, so does your chimney liner. Your flue should be visually inspect at least once per year by an equipped and experienced professional. If there is any reason to suspect cracked or damaged liners this should be confirmed by a video camera inspection of the entire flue.

You are changing the usage of the chimney

You should consider relining when:

1. Converting an open fireplace to a woodstove insert, gas fired insert, or gas log set
2. Installing a new furnace or water heater
3. Switching from oil or coal fired equipment to gas fired equipment
4. Adding an additional appliance to a flue already in use
5. Relocating appliances further away from the existing chimney

You wish to upgrade to modern safety standards

If your structure was built more than 20 years ago there is a good chance you could improve the safety and efficiency using modern methods. The most common improvements are to fireplaces and furnaces venting through masonry chimneys. New stainless steel and aluminum liners are relatively easy upgrades and in many cases can be professionally installed in just a few hours.

Chimney Lining Resources

Many options exist for chimney relining, the three primary methods are: