misaligned clay flue tiles

[hubisz]

So I went up on the roof to clear some debris off, and take down some branches that were growing towards my chimney. I took a look down, and noticed that a few segments down, one of the clay liners is not aligned very well with the others. It goes down smooth for six feet, and then I see the top portion of one of the clay liners (maybe 1/4 - 1/2 inch out of sync).

I'm having the chimney inspected soon, so someone will have a good look at it, but I thought I'd run this by the collective first, to see whether this is an actual problem or not if the mortar is still good. The chance of being told I need something new is always high when it is in the financial best interest of the chimney inspector!

I should mention that it's an 8x8 flue, and I'm venting a hearthstone heritage, installed in the fall of last year. I had no problems whatsoever with drafting, etc, and from the top-down quick inspection, creosote buildup looks minimal (also in my stovepipe run, I had less than 1/8 inch buildup from the whole season of burning).

 

[rdust]

Most likely it was built off, when I lined mine I had to bust out a few that were "off" so the liner could get down. Could be an issue if you have a chimney fire if there are any gaps for the fire to travel into. The chimney man should be able to tell you more, I assume they'll run a camera down it. If you look at the pictures and see gaps/cracks you'll need to take action.

 

[begreen]

External flue? Sounds like it needs a liner.

 

[hubisz]

How much would you expect a SS liner to go for, with labor? The chimney is internal to the home. Can you get a 6 inch liner through the 8x8 clay tiles, or does the clay have to be removed to accommodate insulation?

 

[rdust]

How much would you expect a SS liner to go for, with labor? The chimney is internal to the home. Can you get a 6 inch liner through the 8x8 clay tiles, or does the clay have to be removed to accommodate insulation?

It may go down but if the chimney has issues you'll want to insulate it, that is where the problem may come in if the tiles are misaligned. If it's tall enough you may be able to get away with a 5 1/2" liner. My chimney is 30' so I was able to use a 5 1/2" liner and not hurt the draft. On the really cold nights I could have used a pipe damper without hurting it.

If the chimney isn't very tall you can probably break the tiles out without too much trouble.

 

[fossil]

Is your 8" x 8" measurement on the inside or the outside of the existing tiles? Rick

 

[begreen]

How much would you expect a SS liner to go for, with labor? The chimney is internal to the home. Can you get a 6 inch liner through the 8x8 clay tiles, or does the clay have to be removed to accommodate insulation?

The cost will depend on the length, make and style of the liner and whether it is insulated or not. Simpson has rigid, insulated, duraliner in 5 and 6". One of those will fit, but might be overkill. This will need a good inspection of the flue to determine what is the best course of action. Could be a simple flex liner will be sufficient.

 

[BrotherBart]

Just for reference a flex liner installation should be in the ballpark of eleven hundred dollars.

 

[cmonSTART]

You probably should have the flue video scanned to get a good look at the joint in question. There could still be mortar there, or maybe not. A scan will tell.

In our area a chimney like yours would run about $1,400 or $1,500 for the clay to be removed and an insulated liner installed.

 

[kwikrp]

Had similiar problem and found out that mine did not even have mortar between the joints!! When we went to try to repair it they collapsed so we installed an 8 inch round SS insulated linear cost me $1700 that was includeing busting a hole in the bottom of the brick and cleaning out the mess. They had to bust out any remaining tiles and clear all that debris. After dropping liner in they had to put a new crown on. Was told that it is a common problem and that they see it alot !!

 

[oldspark]

Had similiar problem and found out that mine did not even have mortar between the joints!! When we went to try to repair it they collapsed so we installed an 8 inch round SS insulated linear cost me $1700 that was includeing busting a hole in the bottom of the brick and cleaning out the mess. They had to bust out any remaining tiles and clear all that debris. After dropping liner in they had to put a new crown on. Was told that it is a common problem and that they see it alot !!

That is the way they recomended to build them with no motor between the liners other wise the motor broke and caused problems, my chimney was built that way over 30 years ago and still works fine. Not sure that everyone would agree with this but I read about in a article about chimneys and it has worked well for me.

 

[hubisz]

sorry for the silence on my end. I wasn't getting email updates. Thanks for all the info, everyone. The 8x8 is on the outside, making it difficult for an insulated 6" liner. All those cost numbers were pretty much in-line with what I was expecting. It's good to hear busting out the tiles wasn't a huge expense...I was worried about that. We'll see what the chimney people think when they come by. The chimney-top is about 20' up from the stove, but continues to run down to the basement, where there's a clean-out. Even without the misaligned tiles, the chimney needs work...the tiles aren't extending 2" above the chimney top, as code requires... Man oh man is home-ownership a money-pit!

 

[cmonSTART]

Good luck sir! The folks at hearth.com are here if you need.

 

[hubisz]

Thankfully all went well with the sweep! The CSIA certified guy did a visual inspection, and a quick construction camera look at things, and said nothing was out of the ordinary, and all the mortar was looking good from what he could see. He gave the thumbs up for a season of burning, except for what I knew had to be fixed...the 2 inch clearance on the final tile.

Out of curiosity...what is that 2inch requirement for?