I need a liner - is what he told me... Buddy, you need more than that!

Just shove some 26 ga black stove pipe down there and use dryer vent to make the turn at the bottom thru the thimble. Shove newspaper around the top because insulated liners are better.

I've looked down hundreds of chimneys...that is in the top 10 for sure..maybe top 5 of bad

....uh...yeah

looks like a simple scrubing ought to do...scrubing yourself up after ripping that thing to pieces.

I wonder how people can neglect any part of the house but this one in particular. sorry for the guy as now he has to build a new one. a hair bit more expensive and involved than a liner..

May be a candidate for a cast-in-place liner.

http://www.chimneysaversonline.com/Cast_In_Place_Fireplace_Restoration.html

Is that a cave?

Wow man, that tops my bad one from last year. I'm amazed his house didn't burn down.

Yikes! What did he say when you told him to tear it down?

LLigetfa said:

May be a candidate for a cast-in-place liner.

http://www.chimneysaversonline.com/Cast_In_Place_Fireplace_Restoration.html

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That would be worth investigating I'd say. Probably spendy, but can't be as high as a new chimney, right?

Hey...That looks like the coal mine my grandfather use to work in.

I am not sure what the picture shows and what it is telling you guys about the history of that chimney. I think I see the remains of a ceramic liner with some broken/missing pieces, some missing bricks in the chimney surrounding the liner, and a lot of black, indicating fires have happened. Is that what I see? Why couldn't this chimney be lined and the bricks at the top replaced?

gzecc said:

Is that a cave?

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I was thinking the same thing! Would hate to see what the rest of the house looks like!?

if you hadn't told us, I would have guessed it was a well, or a mine shaft....with build up that thick it might actually be worth it to mine it....looks like you could end up with a pretty good amount of burnable material for a coal power plant.

Tell him to try a jackalope first..whats he got to lose?

Egads . . . glad he came to you . . . this is a bad chimney fire or structure fire in the making to be sure.

How did he come to the conclusion that he needed a liner?

MA, every time I cleanout the ash it has these here big hunks of tile like stuff in it, wonder where that stuff's comin from.

summit said:

madrone said:

How did he come to the conclusion that he needed a liner?

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he wanted to install a new woodstove, and his local sweep told him he had "a couple cracks" in the flue tiles towards the top of the chimney.

Click to expand...

Understatement of the century!

First and foremost, function over form. The rest of the house got plenty of attention, but the part that can turn it all to ashes is a sticking point.
Can't fix stupid.

Franks said:

use dryer vent to make the turn at the bottom thru the thimble.

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The plastic stuff, or should he spring for aluminum?