Renting a lift to do the liner

[DavidV]

Cheapest most expediant solution I have been able to come up with is to rent a 36 foot articulating lift tomorrow and put my liner in. That should be a hoot. Talk about your learning curves. Oh well. by the end of the day I will have my liner in and the next cold weather I plan to fire thoe old beast up. Get at least one more winter out of this thing....and then next year I will rebuild it again and see how many more years she has in her.
Old stove is like an old friend. I can't imagine giving her away.

 

[kwburn]

do you mind if i ask what it costs to rent a lift?
great idea though!
wish i had one to clean my chimneys from the top, lol. the roof line of my cape is just too steep so i do them from below which is a drag with 4 foot extensions you need to bend and screw on and off.

 

[saichele]

I looked at one for some limb work and painting, and it was only about 250 a day. Not cheap, but a lot less than a painter or tree service.

Steve

 

[Sandor]

Get busy David, looks like we may have an opportunity to fire it up this weekend.

 

[ourhouse]

Thats the best way to go! Just becarefull where you set it up and don't over load the lift cap. I bring a bucket truck to work on my house when I need to. It works to great pressure washing the house,cleaning gutters,cleaning the chimney ect. I hate working off ladders.

 

[Toolman]

I just rented a lift last weekend to install my liner for my pellet insert. I have a cape style house, with a fireplace chimney at the end, extending above the roofline. I could not imagine doing it with a ladder! I am sure that some who work on a ladder every day could do it, but not me! It was at an angle, and rather difficult to reach with the ladder.

Don't worry about the learning curve on the lift. It should be a joystick control, and pretty simple overall. The one I was rented was towable, without its own motor. You put it in place with the vehicle, and then could roll it around on smooth ground (it had a nose wheel.) It also pivoted, so I was able to put myself right at the top of the chimney, and actually move myself around the back of the chimey. It worked great for fabricating the cap for the top, and making certain that it was sealed properly. Once you get used to the movement and bounce of the lift (normal), it was actually quite comfortable to work from. And, this is coming from someone who does not like heights at all!

I spent about $150 for this one, but was quoted prices up to $250. If you get a motorized one, it will be more like $400 for a day. If you were trimming alot of trees, it might be worth it, as you would drive from place to place.

Good luck!

 

[DavidV]

I checked around with three places. 225 is the price I'm taking. Towable unit with 36 foot max height. I was going to hire a local handyman to help me do the job, figuring they would already have the ladder, etc but none of them seemed interested, so it's up to me. In fact....they open in 30 minutes.....check you guys later, when I'm taking a break.

David

 

[suematteva]

Thats the best way to go! Just becarefull where you set it up and don't over load the lift cap. I bring a bucket truck to work on my house when I need to. It works to great pressure washing the house,cleaning gutters,cleaning the chimney ect. I hate working off ladders.

Hey Earth Buddy,

Next time you have the bucket truck...why don't you swing on over for a beer...

 

[wg_bent]

I was considering a lift to drop a tree...that gives me some good perspective.

It's a learning curve, but when you're done, you'll be happy you had the experience.

I've rented a few things that made jobs easier, cheaper, and I learned something I didn't know before.
Backhoe, trenchers, and floor sanding machines.

(sanding floors is one of the worst jobs ever It's worse than splitting 5 cords of elm...with a herring)

 

[begreen]

I checked around with three places. 225 is the price I'm taking. Towable unit with 36 foot max height. I was going to hire a local handyman to help me do the job, figuring they would already have the ladder, etc but none of them seemed interested, so it's up to me. In fact....they open in 30 minutes.....check you guys later, when I'm taking a break.

David

Stay safe David, use the outriggers if they come with the unit. And make sure there are no powerlines in the area.

 

[DavidV]

I'm alive. This post is somewhat detailed for those who havn't attempted such stupidity yet.
picked the unit up this morning. 36 foot boom. Got a crash course (2 minutes) to show me how to use it. hooked it to the Dodge Ram happily listened to the shortcut directions to get back home(the location I reserved it at didn't have it and sent me down the road to their other location). Dropped it off at home. met with my kid's teacher, took the wife to breakfast and then started around 10 am. I figured I'd be done somewhere around 2pm..... stop laughing. I stretched the liner out on the sidewalk and went the length of it with a guage I made in my shop to make sure it would fit in the 6 1/4 " chimney. Had to work it some more in a few places. My wife has her arm in a sling so I sent her off to run some errands instead of having her pull from the bottom like I originally intended.
I swept the chimney to get it properly clean and got tons of crap out of it...even though it's been swept in the last month.

I pulled it up by rope and started stuffing. hard hot work. Stupid thing wants to fold over anbd crimp so I was fighting that the whole time. Got it 15 feet in and I think I had a slight twist in it because it wouldn't go any further. I fought and fought with it. Wife came home and immediately started telling me how it didn't look so good. I cut her off and kept at it. After 2 hours of fighting, I pulled it back out. dropped it to the ground and took a break. I asked if she thought she could sit on the floor and pull with one arm.( she benches 200 lbs so she can really pull) . She wanted to run to town again first so I got the angle grinder and cut off the remains of the damper in the firebox. Then I went outside and rigged up a pull with some 550 cord, duct dape and a long piece of poly rope. When she got back I went back up. I started feeding it down and she started pulling., We hit a few tough spots.....15 feet in was one of them but she pulled it thru. I had to come down and wiggle it thru the flue but I did and then went back up and cut off about 6 feet of extra. God bless that woman for the patience she has with me. If she wasn't so strong, there is now way I'd have gotten this done today. I spent a couple hourse fabricating the old chimney cap to work with the new chimney cap which wasn't wide enough to cover the flue tiles so that I could eventually get it all the way it should be. Broke about 7 drill bits. used 2 tube of chimney cement to fix the crown which was in terrible condition. USed a tube of black roof sealer stuff to caulk around the flashing and touch up a split I put in a shingle the other day when I was trying to do this by sitting on the crown of the roof.
I have huge strawberry's on my shoulders and both biceps. I'm exhausted. I took the boom back to the first place, and have to go back and drop off the key tomorrow AM.....no key drop. I came home, fixed a broken toilet and took a shower. I'm just now finishing up my dinner and enjoying an ice cold IPA. The bottom of the liner isn't connected to the stove yet because I think I'm missing a piece. I have a pieced marked to be the stove starter but something isn't right The high work is done, though. I'm gonna sleep like a rock....unless my wife's shoulder is bothering her and she wakes me up ten times to tell me how much it hurts. I love her anyway.
Let me summarize some things I learned today. I'm not sure I would put in liners for a living unless most of them were much easier than this one. what a PITA. HAving someone pull from below is VERY important if you are working thru a tight spot. The stainless steel liners are very resiliant and when you bend them funky you can usually bend them back without rupturing them. a 36 foot boom is scary to tow......makes you feel like your truck is about to be tossed off the road every time you hit a bump.

 

[Toolman]

Well, at least you got it done!

Mine went pretty easy, but I was only putting in 4 inch liner for a pellet vent. The most difficult part I had was fashioning the chimney cap to go over the clay tile at the top of the chimney. Stainless steel is pretty difficult to work with like that. With a great deal of silicone, some hammering, bending with pliers, some cuts with a recipro saw, and six concrete screws, she is up there.

The liner went down pretty good. It hung up about four feet in, and I was thinking, "I hope this isn't the way it is going to go all the way down!" I pulled it back a bit, gave it a little twist, and down it went. I got it in what I thought was far enough to get to the damper, and went down and looked. Sure enough, there it was! I reached up, and gave 'er a pull. I put the insert in the fireplace, hooked up all of the connections with my silicone, and that was it. Much easier than a ladder! I think a ladder would have been impossible for my chimney.

The lift I used was 40 feet. It towed fine, but it is probably because I have a 3/4 ton Yukon, and am used to towing a travel trailer.

 

[paulgp602]

Forgive me if I sound snide- that's not my intentions, but wouldn't it have been cheaper and less aggravating to just pay a chimney guy to drop the liner in for you, and you complete the other parts of the job (cap, stove connection, etc. yourself?

Last year when I had my insert installed the 17 ft of SS flex liner was $500 installed including the liner cost.

 

[suematteva]

David this is a tribute to all of us who say "yea a couple hours no problem" two days later.....

Good Job.

 

[DavidV]

Forgive me if I sound snide- that's not my intentions, but wouldn't it have been cheaper and less aggravating to just pay a chimney guy to drop the liner in for you, and you complete the other parts of the job (cap, stove connection, etc. yourself?

Last year when I had my insert installed the 17 ft of SS flex liner was $500 installed including the liner cost.

If somebody could have done the job that cheap I would have been all over it. Over the last 4 years I have gotten quotes ranging from $4K to the most recent quote which was a sight unseen "about $750 for materials and $600 for labor." The chimney I always have used quoted me a couple grand. add the cost of the liner to the boom rental and I'm in it for $800. I took comp time yesterday which I lose if I don't use it.
If you want to put a cash price on the aggravation aspect of it then I would have been willing to pay another 500 bucks.That would put me at 1300. The low quote I got for "about $750 for materials and $600 for labor." would have climbed dramaticly when they got here, saw the pitch of the roof, had to ovalize the pipe, yada yada yada. I also have lost faith with the quality of work I recieve from hired professionals.
Now that said. I have some floor work that needs to be done in my kitchen. I hired a pro. But I've used him before and he does better work than I could do.

Short answer here is I saved $500 minimum.

 

[paulgp602]

Wow I had no idea it cost that much for a liner. I have a basic roof (ranch) with 17ft of chimney. Kudos to you for saving $500. I would have done the same thing in that situation.

 

[begreen]

Good to hear you're ok and it sounds like the chimney survived as well . You'll be warm again soon now.

 

[elkimmeg]

David I would have used the lift to paint my uper trim But I guess with all that fustration you had, I too would have had enough.

I glad you detailed the effort. Not as easy as many make it out to be, pretty scary shaking around 36' high

Not the type of job for the DIY with faint of heart or not good with heights

 

[DavidV]

yeah....would have used it for a few chores but it's a beast to move from one spot to another and I spent way more time out there than I wanted to.

 

[BrotherBart]

Congrats on getting that thing in there guy. If I had had the good sense to get a lift I wouldn't have had to shove that double wall liner up from the bottom.

And if the misses benches 200 repeat after me "Yes ma'am. Whatever you say ma'am."

 

[Sandor]

David I would have used the lift to paint my uper trim But I guess with all that fustration you had, I too would have had enough.

I glad you detailed the effort. Not as easy as many make it out to be, pretty scary shaking around 36' high

Not the type of job for the DIY with faint of heart or not good with heights

True! First time up 15 years ago in one of those things, my legs and hands were shaking so hard that my friend had to operate the thing from the ground to get me down, after he did a couple of fly arounds, around the the front yard. Punk.

And I was only 30 feet up!

 

[BrotherBart]

Sandor:

"True! First time up 15 years ago in one of those things, my legs and hands were shaking so hard that my friend had to operate the thing from the ground to get me down, after he did a couple of fly arounds, around the the front yard. Punk."

I can get the beer off of the monitor but the keyboard it a goner.

BTW: Button things down tight down there Sandor. You got a pro-model storm on the way.

 

[Roospike]

David I would have used the lift to paint my uper trim But I guess with all that fustration you had, I too would have had enough.

I glad you detailed the effort. Not as easy as many make it out to be, pretty scary shaking around 36' high

Not the type of job for the DIY with faint of heart or not good with heights

True! First time up 15 years ago in one of those things, my legs and hands were shaking so hard that my friend had to operate the thing from the ground to get me down, after he did a couple of fly arounds, around the the front yard. Punk.

And I was only 30 feet up!

LMAO I can C it now.

 

[elkimmeg]

Did I hear that right, the misses benches 200 lbs with one hand? well we know who wears the pants

 

[elkimmeg]

Did I hear that right, the misses benches 200 lbs with one hand? well we know who wears the pants

Did she grow up living with a PE summit?