COLD CHIMNEY

[Mgerdau]

Hi, and thanks for the add to Hearth.com. Several years ago I had to take down our chimney because it had an improper footing, well there was no footing. Then when we (two friends of mine who are contractors) reconstructed the chimney we poured concrete between the cinder blocks and the Terra cotta; I had no experience in constructing a chimney and I'm thinking my friends didn't either. So, fast forward to now. I have to sweep our chimney at least every 3 months because of the creosote build up. We had a professional sweep come by and he said there was a small ledge at the bottom of the chimney but he was unable to break it loose. He also said he had never seen creosote like ours. Our creosote is shiny and thick, I can bearly break it off with a knife edge, so we have this coating on the inside of the terra cotta. This morning my wife experienced a back-draft with a little hair singed and a lot of ash.

I'm thinking this summer about demolishing the chimney and rebuilding it. But I'm not looking forward to that task because my friends and I really built the chimney to last; so its going to be a REAL TASK. I'm wondering if running stainless steel pipe down the existing terra cotta will help alleviate our cold chimney syndrome.

Our chimney is on the outer wall and is constructed with concrete blocks (cinder blocks) then concrete, and then the main flue is terra cotta. What I've found out is we shouldn't have filled the void between the cinder blocks and terra cotta; which is the way the old chimney was.

Any help would be appreciated!

 

[bholler]

Hi, and thanks for the add to Hearth.com. Several years ago I had to take down our chimney because it had an improper footing, well there was no footing. Then when we (two friends of mine who are contractors) reconstructed the chimney we poured concrete between the cinder blocks and the Terra cotta; I had no experience in constructing a chimney and I'm thinking my friends didn't either. So, fast forward to now. I have to sweep our chimney at least every 3 months because of the creosote build up. We had a professional sweep come by and he said there was a small ledge at the bottom of the chimney but he was unable to break it loose. He also said he had never seen creosote like ours. Our creosote is shiny and thick, I can bearly break it off with a knife edge, so we have this coating on the inside of the terra cotta. This morning my wife experienced a back-draft with a little hair singed and a lot of ash.

I'm thinking this summer about demolishing the chimney and rebuilding it. But I'm not looking forward to that task because my friends and I really built the chimney to last; so its going to be a REAL TASK. I'm wondering if running stainless steel pipe down the existing terra cotta will help alleviate our cold chimney syndrome.

Our chimney is on the outer wall and is constructed with concrete blocks (cinder blocks) then concrete, and then the main flue is terra cotta. What I've found out is we shouldn't have filled the void between the cinder blocks and terra cotta; which is the way the old chimney was.

Any help would be appreciated!

You would have to get all of that creosote out of the chimney. Which normally if it was that bad i would do by breaking out the old clay. But if you poured it solid you wont be able to do that. It will also eventually tear itsrlf apart because that clay will expand much faster than the surrounding concrete causing cracks in the block. I would consider taking it down and replacing it with an insulated prefab stainless chimney.

Btw what stove are you using and how long has your wood been cut split and stacked.

 

[bholler]

Honestly i doubt that the fact that you poured itsolid is contributing to your creosote problems much at all. But because you did it the normal fixes wont work.

 

[Mgerdau]

Honestly i doubt that the fact that you poured itsolid is contributing to your creosote problems much at all. But because you did it the normal fixes wont work.

Well, thanks for the input. That's what I was dreading. We'll hobble through the winter and this will be my top project for this year. About our wood, it is dry lodge pole pine and has been under cover for 2 years now. The stove, well, I don't know what it is. When my wife moved into the house 25+ years ago she replaced the stove her Uncle had in here with the one we now have. There are no markings on the stove.

 

[HomeinPA]

Buy some Creaway and use it per the instructions. Come spring, tear it down and install a Class A chimney. If you want you can frame it in and finish it with siding, stone or stucco. Maintain it and you'll have years of service from it.

 

[Mgerdau]

Buy some Creaway and use it per the instructions. Come spring, tear it down and install a Class A chimney. If you want you can frame it in and finish it with siding, stone or stucco. Maintain it and you'll have years of service from it.

I bought the Creaway. Had planned on sweeping and using the Creaway when we came back from S. Calif, but the stove was backing up so bad I ended up sweeping yesterday so I applied the Creaway, both top and bottom of the chimney. Stove is working great right now. Thanks for the advice

 

[Mgerdau]

I have it set in my mind to de-construct our chimney this spring. But I was just looking at Rockford Chimney Supply's Site and watched their video on installing the stainless steel pipe. It looks like they installed the pipe down an existing clay chimney. I'm wondering if that may solve my cold chimney. Our chimney is outside of the house. It goes below grade to where the chimney snout goes through the basement wall and where the stove black pipe connects. When I sweep I can see the concrete joints, because some concrete had blooped out, between the clay. These joints are where a lot of creosote is collecting and I can knock that off easily enough when I sweep. I've tried, unsuccessfully, to break the excess concrete off. However, my big concern is the glazed creosote on the clay. If the Creaway can remove he glazed creosote. Then maybe using the flexible stainless steel pipe down the existing chimney may be the way to go.

 

[HomeinPA]

I have it set in my mind to de-construct our chimney this spring. But I was just looking at Rockford Chimney Supply's Site and watched their video on installing the stainless steel pipe. It looks like they installed the pipe down an existing clay chimney. I'm wondering if that may solve my cold chimney. Our chimney is outside of the house. It goes below grade to where the chimney snout goes through the basement wall and where the stove black pipe connects. When I sweep I can see the concrete joints, because some concrete had blooped out, between the clay. These joints are where a lot of creosote is collecting and I can knock that off easily enough when I sweep. I've tried, unsuccessfully, to break the excess concrete off. However, my big concern is the glazed creosote on the clay. If the Creaway can remove he glazed creosote. Then maybe using the flexible stainless steel pipe down the existing chimney may be the way to go.

To properly install a stainless steel liner it would have to be insulated which would require removal of the terracotta tiles so that you have enough room. As you've mentioned that the tiles are mortared in I'd say you have a better chance of winning the Powerball drawing this week than being able to get them out. That's why I said to tear it down and go with Class-A.

 

[Mgerdau]

To properly insa stainless steel liner it would have to be insulated which would require removal of the terracotta tiles so that you have enough room. As you've mentioned that the tiles are mortared in I'd say you have a better chance of winning the Powerball drawing this week than being able to get them out. That's why I said to tear it down and go with Class-A.

LOL! Yeah, that's what the wife said! Ok, tearing down the chimney this spring. So, I'll build a Class A. Can you point me to good plans? I'll put up stainless steel pipe, but the facade/surround is what I'm interested in. I'm thinking of just framing around the steel pipe (like 8 - 10 inches) with 2x4's, anchoring to the side of the house every 3-4 feet up, side that with exterior siding, wrapping with tyvek, and then applying some stone work.

 

[HomeinPA]

We've replaced 3 of them this past year. Sided one with vinyl siding, one with T111 and one with stone veneer. The veneer was the most work...obviously. Just make sure everything is to Mfg. instructions and clearances are correct. Stone requires a moisture barrier, mesh, scratch coat then stone. I finish mine with a stainless chase cover that goes over the outside of the top layer of stone. If you're doing it yourself you can check out Lowe's line of Duratech. They'll screw you into the ground on special order stuff though. Check with your local stove shop and see what they have available.

 

[Mgerdau]

We've replaced 3 of them this past year. Sided one with vinyl siding, one with T111 and one with stone veneer. The veneer was the most work...obviously. Just make sure everything is to Mfg. instructions and clearances are correct. Stone requires a moisture barrier, mesh, scratch coat then stone. I finish mine with a stainless chase cover that goes over the outside of the top layer of stone. If you're doing it yourself you can check out Lowe's line of Duratech. They'll screw you into the ground on special order stuff though. Check with your local stove shop and see what they have available.

Hey, thanks for the response! I didn't think about Duratech. I think Lowe's will have everything I'll need. Now to figure out where to take all of the old chimney - LOL!

 

[HomeinPA]

Find a farmer, they usually have a low spot somewhere to dump their "stuff" or someone that has a sinkhole they're filling in