What kind of liner and what kind of mortar? If it is actually mortar then no probably not And even if you did get it out then what you could not do anything else with it.
Chimney questions for wood stove install
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It's a solid metal liner of some sort. The fellow who looked at it wasn't sure what it was, he'd never seen one exactly like it before. I haven't had the opportunity to scale the house and look at the mortar, which is most easily visible from the top of the chimney, but from what I saw from the photos the sweep's technician took, it might be some kind of concrete instead of mortar (I remember seeing what looked like gravel in the photo he showed me).
Sounds like none of that matters, however. If they were able to somehow remove it, there'd need to be enough room for an insulated 6" flex liner, and I suppose it's not possible to hollow the chimney's poured in lining out enough to do that. So a demo and rebuild is my only option, sounds like.
No you need to find out what is poured around it. It is probably vermiculite and cement insulation which you can pull the liner out of and you can remove. But if it is insulation and the liner is in good shape there is no need to remove it at all.
Thank you. I took some pictures of the inside of the liner in an attempt to see what's actually in there. I'm brand new to all this, so I don't know what I'm looking at... but this thing doesn't look pretty. It's not exactly... symmetrical. I don't think I'd want a nice new Progress Hybrid hooked to this thing.
I took some from a thimble pointing up the chimney using my phone and a flashlight. Most didn't turn out, but you can see a few details in this one:
The research I've done suggests that up until about 2005 the owners at that point were merrily engaging in a number of things that are frowned on: this chimney had two wood stoves and an oil boiler attached to it, all at the same time.
The photo above is taken from the thimble in the living room, where I want the new stove (and where they previously had some kind of soapstone wood stove). The gash you see in the liner is the thimble from the kitchen, where a wood cook stove was attached. The oil boiler in the basement hasn't been used in at least 10 years.
The photo above is taken from the thimble in the living room, where I want the new stove (and where they previously had some kind of soapstone wood stove). The gash you see in the liner is the thimble from the kitchen, where a wood cook stove was attached. The oil boiler in the basement hasn't been used in at least 10 years.
2broke2ride
Burning Hunk
It looks more like crimped seam rigid but it is hard to say. It doesn't look to rusted so I doubt it is black pipe but i could be wrong.
I know the sentiment and its one that permeates this forum, the woodshed sub forum has a lot more info on the gathering/splitting/stacking of firewood; and would be a good place to get some recommendations for equipment to pick up. The nice helpful folks on here seem to have an answer for even the dumbest of questions, at least so far they've been able to explain it to this dummy!
I really like this statement. Refreshing change from some (not on this board) who's total focus is on price tag and cost.
Not to start a fight but spending my money wisely, AND doing things safely in my life is...how I make 98% of my choices.
No problem with that, prudent financial management is another form of safety. As long as it doesn't compromise the actual safety of the installation, being frugal can be a virtue. Just watch out for being penny wise and pound foolish.
Thank you! I went straight for the wood stoves forum and forgot there were others. I need to do plenty of research in that area as well--harvesting wood is new to me. I split wood for my parents when I was a teen for the wood stove we had for years then, but that's the extent of my experience. I've no idea if I was splitting the wood correctly, anyway, it was more being handed an ax and told to get to work. I think he split one first to demonstrate. It looks like Stihl is a good brand of chainsaw and there's a dealer in a small town nearby, but otherwise I'm still in the dark as to what all I need.
OK, this must be a stupid question, but I'm going to ask it anyway--I just measured the interior dimensions of the existing liner (pictured earlier in this thread). It's 8" on the inside from every direction I could squeeze the measuring tape.
So... why can't we just drop a 6" insulated flex liner inside this existing metal liner?
Also, I'm having a couple more chimney sweeps/masons come out to give me a quote and an opinion on my chimney situation.
How important is the CSIA certification? There's a sweep locally who is very well liked and came recommended to me by some folks in town, but he's not CSIA certified. His website says he is a "National Chimney Sweep Guild" member, but he doesn't come up when I search for his business on the NCSG website.
So... why can't we just drop a 6" insulated flex liner inside this existing metal liner?
Also, I'm having a couple more chimney sweeps/masons come out to give me a quote and an opinion on my chimney situation.
How important is the CSIA certification? There's a sweep locally who is very well liked and came recommended to me by some folks in town, but he's not CSIA certified. His website says he is a "National Chimney Sweep Guild" member, but he doesn't come up when I search for his business on the NCSG website.
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You could easily do that i did not realize that it was 8"
If he has good references from people you trust i would not worry about the certification. But if he said he was part of the guild and he is not i see that as a problem. Did you search for his name not just the company
That's wonderful news! I can't imagine how much demolishing this chimney that runs right through the center of my home would cost. I very much hope I can make this work as-is.
I just searched for his name, nothing came up there either. I also searched for all members within 50 miles of my ZIP code, the CSIA certified sweep is listed as part of the guild, but this fellow's business isn't mentioned anywhere. Hmm...
If you start another thread in the shed you could get tons more input but, I have one of my dad's stihl saws (ms260) and if he needed it back and wouldn't let me have it again I'd buy another one. New ones are expensive but I really wouldn't want anything else.
Quoted the wrong post.
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I have four young children, so I'm very interested in safety... and in saving money!
The only way to do it right the first time - safely - and save money is via superior planning. Definitely not the "ready, fire, aim" type of planning I was referring to earlier. Doing it over costs more as does doing it wrong. The "price tag is everything" types never see that, until it's too late, sometimes not even then.
You're doing it right and I wish you the best of luck!
Thank you! I'm doing the best I can to plan all of this out, and this forum is a fantastic resource. I appreciate the experience and honest advice everyone willingly brings to this community.
I received my quote from the CSIA sweep. It looks very reasonable to me. I have a question about the liner.
He wants to install a liner defined as:
"New Liner in chimney. Premier Flex L heavy wall liner system installed. Much thicker and more durable than typical foil liners. Includes required insulation system and all necessary parts. Lifetime warranty on liner parts from factory."
He wants to install a liner defined as:
"New Liner in chimney. Premier Flex L heavy wall liner system installed. Much thicker and more durable than typical foil liners. Includes required insulation system and all necessary parts. Lifetime warranty on liner parts from factory."
- I'm having trouble coming up with much when I Google "Premier Flex L heavy wall liner system" -- is that a good liner? Should I ask for something different? He mentions in his email that he will fit this liner in and then pour in insulation around it. I had assumed he'd suggest an insulated flex liner, but it sounds like he feels this is a better solution.
- Also, is it unreasonable for me to request that the contract specifies the CSIA sweep himself be present for the install? His technician seemed like a really nice guy, but I didn't feel very confident about his knowledge given what he told me vs. how things actually worked out.
I dont know that brand but the fact that it is heavy wall is good that is all we will use for wood stoves. As far as the pour in versus blanket wrap looking at your chimney i doubt you would get a wrapped liner in there with all of the distortion of the existing liner so pour in would be the only option.
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