Chimney Liners & Relining
The liner is the part of the chimney that keeps heat and combustion gases out of your house. When it fails, nothing else about the chimney matters until it is fixed.
Stainless liners installed to UL 1777 with manufacturer warranty documentation.
Relining is called for when
- Clay tiles are cracked, shifted or missing
- A chimney fire has damaged the flue
- You are converting to gas or adding a stove
- The flue is oversized for the appliance
- There is no liner at all, which is common pre-1950
Three jobs, all of them safety critical
It contains the heat
A liner keeps flue temperatures away from the framing, joists and sheathing that sit against the masonry. Unlined and failed flues are a documented cause of house fires.
It contains the gases
Combustion products including carbon monoxide travel up the flue. A gap in the liner is a route for them into the living space or an adjacent flue.
It protects the masonry
Flue gases are acidic. Without a liner, that condensate attacks the mortar joints from the inside and destroys the chimney from within.
How liners give out
- Pieces of clay tile found on the smoke shelf or in the firebox
- Visible cracks or open joints on a camera scan of the flue
- Tiles that have shifted, leaving a gap where two sections meet
- Heat damage and honeycombed tile faces following a chimney fire
- Rusted, perforated metal liner on an older appliance installation
- A flue far larger than the appliance vent it now serves, which causes cold, slow draft and heavy condensation
What we install and when we recommend it
| Liner type | Best suited to | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Stainless steel, flexible | Wood stoves, inserts, gas conversions, offset or irregular flues | The workhorse. Feeds down a flue that is not perfectly straight, which most old chimneys are not. |
| Stainless steel, rigid | Straight flues, furnace and boiler venting | Slightly better flow characteristics where the run allows it. |
| Insulated stainless | Exterior chimneys, cold walls, oversized flues | An insulation wrap or pour keeps flue temperature up, which cuts creosote and improves draft dramatically. |
| Aluminium | Certain gas appliances only | Cheaper, and strictly limited in application. Never appropriate for wood. |
| Clay tile replacement | Historic restoration where the stack is being rebuilt anyway | Rarely the practical choice unless the chimney is already open. |
Sizing is not a detail. A liner that is too large for the appliance runs cold and condenses. One that is too small starves the appliance and spills smoke into the room. We size to the appliance manufacturer's specification and the flue we are working with, not to whatever is on the truck.
How a reline goes in
Camera scan and measurement
We confirm the failure, measure the flue for its full height, and check for offsets and obstructions that affect what will physically feed down.
Clearing the way
Old liner material, debris and heavy creosote removed. On some older chimneys a mortar shoulder or a partial obstruction has to be broken out first.
The liner goes down from the top
The new stainless liner is fed from the crown to the appliance connection, and insulated where the situation calls for it.
Connection and sealing
Tee or appliance connector fitted at the base, top plate and storm collar set at the crown, and the whole assembly sealed against water entry.
Cap and finish
A properly sized cap goes on to keep rain and animals out of the new liner, because a bare stainless flue collects water like a funnel.
Documentation
Warranty paperwork, product specification and photographs handed over. Keep these. Insurers and buyers ask for them.
Relining, answered
How long does a stainless liner last?
Quality stainless liners installed correctly commonly carry long manufacturer warranties, and many are lifetime warranted for the original homeowner when used with the fuel they are rated for. Burning the wrong fuel through a liner will void that faster than anything else.
Can a cracked clay tile just be patched?
There are cast-in-place and sealant systems that address certain tile failures, and they have their place. For most of the failures we see in practice, a stainless liner is more reliable, faster to install and easier to warranty.
Do I need to reline if I am converting to gas?
Usually yes. A flue sized for an open wood fireplace is enormously oversized for a gas appliance. The gases cool, condense on the way up, and the acidic condensate then attacks the masonry. Correct sizing is part of doing the conversion properly.
How much does relining cost?
It depends on flue height, diameter, whether insulation is needed, and how much has to be removed first. We quote after the camera scan, in writing, and the price does not move unless the scope does.
Will I lose fireplace size?
For an open fireplace, relining does not change the firebox. For a stove or insert installation the liner runs inside the existing flue, so the change is internal and invisible from the room.
Everything else we handle on the chimney
Most of our visits turn up more than one thing. Because we do the cleaning, the masonry, the liner work and the waterproofing ourselves, you are never handed off to a second contractor.
Serving Chester County and the surrounding townships
We work out of Chester County and cover the boroughs, townships and rural stretches around it. Pick your town for local detail, or call and we will tell you straight away whether you are on our route.
Find out what your flue actually looks like
Camera scan, clear findings, and a written relining quote if you need one. Call for a free estimate.