What Does Your Chimney Liner Do?
Building codes in most places dictate that a chimney should have a liner to help protect your home.
When you burn a fire in your fireplace, a number of byproducts are created that would eat away at the mortar joints in the chimney if a liner wasn’t in place. If that were to happen, the life of your chimney would dramatically decrease, whilst increasing the likelihood of dangerous gasses entering your home. Carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, and nitrous oxide are just a few of the gasses that can sneak into your property when there is no liner in your chimney.
There are a number of combustible materials in your home, and without a liner, they may be in trouble from the intense heat inside the chimney. It doesn’t take a lot to set off the wood framing and other flammable parts of your house.
Even if you know that your chimney has a liner, it may still be time to look at relining. Historic homes may not have one, and newer houses may have a liner that has become worn over. Both of these situations represent a real danger to your property, which is why an inspection should be performed as soon as possible.
Relining Materials and Options
For the most part, today’s liners are made of either clay tile, metal, or cast-in-place masonry, with each type having their own benefits.
- Clay Tiles – Perhaps the most common option, as well as being the most affordable. Clay tiles work really well as a liner as long as you make sure they are properly maintained. They are not the best option for gas fireplaces, and the tiles have been known to crack or split over time. The problem with clay tiles is that it’s almost impossible to reline a chimney with them, which often means a total rebuild needs to be performed if clay is your liner material of choice.
- Metal – As far as pre-fabricated liners go, we are of the opinion that stainless steel is your best option. All of the metal liners that we install will come with a lifetime warranty, assuming of course that you have them inspected annually by a professional chimney sweep.
- Cast Masonry – This option requires the removal of the old liner so that a new one can be cast and installed. Once that is done, any and all cracks or gaps are sealed, and your home protected by this seamless liner. This is a particularly good option for those of you living in a historic home in Metairie, LA.
If you haven’t had your chimney inspected in a while, and are concerned about your liner, please feel free to give ARC Chimney Sweeps of Metairie, LA a call at (504) 322-3654.