Exterior block degrading & older poured-in chimney

[June]

I've bought a fixer-upper, but it's got more chimney problems than I expected. Previous owner of 18 yrs did no maintenance, but claims poured-in place chimenys last a lifetime & hold exterior together. Don't think this is an Ahrens, don't know manufacturer.
Chimney inspector refused to clean chimney, claimed due to exterior block cracking that the poured-in liner would not be good. Then proceeded to try to sell me a new installation of stainless steel pipe elsewhere in the building--poured-in liner is 6" ID & no room to install any other liner inside. Searching internet gives no info on what type of regular maintenance, how to tell when a poured-in place liner is going bad. Exterior block appears to be 6" high concrete. Tearing down the chimney to roofline would cost about $800, & would still leave me w/an unusable chimney stub in the middle of the basement.
Anyone have any experience of any kind with this type liner?
I've got a pic uploaded, sorry it doesn't really show the damage on this side that was more visible from a different angle.

 

[bholler]

Well you could wrap the chimney in mesh and parge it if it is not to bad but that wont fix the poured in liner. To my knowledge there is no way to fix pour in place liners once they start to degrade. But i would try a few different sweeps and see what recommendations you get. There are some interior resurfacing products out there i dont know if they are approved for pour in place liners or not though. You would have to find a sweep who works with them

 

[begreen]

Would a 5.5" stainless liner be an option?

 

[Ashful]

I think you need to get a level 2 inspection (camera down the flue) before making any decision on how to proceed. Bholler's suggestion is a standard way of stabilizing a failing stack, but first you need to assess the flue.

 

[bholler]

but first you need to assess the flue.

I totally agree no point in fixing the outside if the inside cant be saved

 

[June]

Have any of you known a poured-in liner to degrade?
Thanks for the input. I am upset that the chimney inspection I paid for did not include a video, since that ability was the reason I selected that company. Their comment was they needed to clean it before filming & didn't think it would be safe for them to get a ladder up against that chimney in its condition. You can see it is about 12 feet above roofline.

 

[Ashful]

I think the most likely cause of poured-in liner failure would be structural problems (I.e. Shifting) with the chimney.

You can sweep and camera from below, so no need to go up on the chimney. This is how I did mine, since my chimney is too tall to reach with a 40' ladder.

 

[bholler]

Have any of you known a poured-in liner to degrade?

Yes i have seen several that started to degrade after 10 years or so. I think it is usually due to improper installation but like i said don't do them so my experience is limited.

You can sweep and camera from below, so no need to go up on the chimney. This is how I did mine, since my chimney is too tall to reach with a 40' ladder.

Some can be some cant it all depends on the setup. I would assume this one could not be done from the ground or the sweep would have done it.

 

[Ashful]

Some can be some cant it all depends on the setup. I would assume this one could not be done from the ground or the sweep would have done it.

Local perspective is everything. I sometimes forget that not everyone has a chimney that could fit Santa with room to spare.

 

[bholler]

Local perspective is everything. I sometimes forget that not everyone has a chimney that could fit Santa with room to spare.

Yeah we always try to set things up so they can be cleaned from the bottom but there are times it just is not an option