Masonry Chimney Draft Question

I suspect it would work . . . but I personally would go with the Class A (insulated) metal chimney . . . I think you'll be happier with the draft, cleaning, etc.

P.S. Welcome to hearth.com.

Also, beating Dennis to the punch . . . if you are planning on getting a woodstove it's never too early to start getting your firewood -- either cutting it up yourself or buying some. Be forewarned . . . buying "seasoned" wood from dealers often results in wood that isn't seasoned as much as it should be to burn in the modern EPA woodstoves.

Hi - I would not do it that way. At 22' tall a larger 10x10 tile liner is not much more cost and a lot easier to line. I have installed 2 stoves into masonry chimneys. I was able to get good performance and draft with rigid liner (6"). Class A is not needed and costs way more.

The 6" tile can work but it can also break... Then what? It also takes time to warm up... More time at cool temps = slower light off, slower heat, more cleaning...

Start cutting/splitting/stacking!!

ATB,
Mike

Metal or clay, a chimney will always work better (not to mention heat loss) if you can run it inside rather than exterior, and a wood stove will heat your house more evenly if it is located closer to the center mass of the house rather than against an exterior wall. Since this house hasn't been built yet it should still be easy to incoorporate these things into the plan.
Like Jake, I'd personaly go with class A metal.

He wants to run the chimney on the outside wall because it's far easier that way.

A masonry chimney will hold a lot of thermal mass if it's in the center of your house and will help heat it.

At the very least I would want whatever he installed as close to the center of the house as possible.

Go for the masonry chimney if that's what you want, but instead of having a clay liner put in, install a stainless liner. You can insulate the liner if you wish.
A new masonry chimney (ie. chimney blocks) with a stainless steel liner will cost you less than $100 more than the same chimney with the clay liner. The SS liner gets hot quickly and won't deteriorate over time like the clay will. Covering the liner with an insulation blanket will almost guarantee a great draft. I didn't insulate mine, but the draft is still excellent.

Hope this helps a bit!

I'd go stainless.. As a alternative as mentioned by someone else, 10" with the intent of adding an insulated SS liner later. I would not go with 6" clay.

A metal flue also stays cleaner (because it heats up faster) and is usually easier to clean.

I'd also go with an interior fireplace for reasons that others have mentioned and because I believe its easier to get an airtight/watertight interface between the chimney and house structure. Masonry chimneys are very heavy. Houses and chimneys both settle but at different rates. This can be handled readily with a properly flashed roof penetration (a reglet with flashing/counterflashing).

I don't believe the differential movement is as easy to deal with when an external chimney and the walls next to it settle at different rates. I've been dealing with this problem at my house for years.

As a contractor that used to rebuild masonry chimney's, I would recommend against a clay flue liner. Re-builds are expensive and if you want to heat regularly with wood, you will find that they won't last all that long, especially as an exterior un-insulated chimney. IMO, your best bet would be what has already been mentioned; an interior masonry chimney with a SS liner. Even better if there is insulation between the SS and the clay flue tile and better still if the masonry part is thicker near the base level to act as a thermal battery.