chimney rebuild what course of action would you choose?

[rob bennett]

Ok I have an 18 foot chimney that runs thought the center of my house. I need to rebuild more or less the top half. The morter is crumbling and bricks are spalling badly above the roof line. It currently has 3 terra cotta flues in it. All are the tiny 6 by 12 size. there is a slight jog in it.

One flue goes to the basement. It is not needed.
2 Flues go into the main living room fireplace. I plan on installing a Oslo some time down the road.

So my plan is to rebuild the chimney from the roof line up with new bricks.
I don't think I will ever get an insulated liner down these flues even if I ovalize it. They are very small.

What should I do now, so I have a safe installation later?
can I pull one of the terra cotta flues out and use an insulated forever flex liner with out a terra cotta liner?
Do I need to put in a larger terra cotta flue in and THEN run an insulated liner down?
Would a solid pipe make more sense and be safer?

What do you think? I really want to be a few steps ahead with this project.
Rob

 

[savageactor7]

Hi rob your current chimney sounds like our old one...with the jog and all.

There are a lot of SS liners out there and I'm sure one will work in that flue pipe. With the jog in the chimney perhaps a flex pipe/liner would be more compatible. Because your chimney is in the center of the house I'm pretty sure you won't need to insulate the liner...just mo.

 

[fraxinus]

Another possibility is a poured in place liner if they are available in your area. Supaflu (www.supaflu.com) is one and there are, I believe, at least two more.