Help Needed - Chimney Issue

[toddnic]

My neighbor was told last year that they had a chimney fire and that some of the components in the chimney needed to be replaced. A "non-reputable" company, that is no longer in business, did the work and now there is very little draft and smoke comes into the house. Another company came out and looked at their setup and told them that they needed to install a new liner, etc. and that the cost would be $6,500. That sounds pretty high in that a new 35' system costs around $1,000 for the parts. (http://www.woodlanddirect.com/Chimn...mney-Champion-Easy-Flex-Chimney-Liner-Kit-8in). Does anyone on this forum know of a reputable company or individual that could come take a look at their chimney and insert setup? They are located in Cullowhee, NC (very western North Carolina).

 

[begreen]

For a certified sweep try www.csia.org - enter zipcode

 

[double-d]

Try going to this website - (broken link removed to http://www.csia.org/directory/results/results.aspx), I used your zip code number and this is a list of certified chimney sweeps in a 50 mile radius of your zip code. I do not know any of them but it is a good place to start and ask them for quotes.
Pricing does vary across the country, so I can't say its too expensive. A lot of times it depends on the difficulty of getting on the roof, height of the chimney and what they need to do.

 

[bholler]

$6500 sounds high but we dont know what all is involved and what was done by the other company which now needs undone. Our price for a normal 35' 8" liner install would be roughly $4000. But we would really need more info to know what needs done. What stove is going into this chimney? Is there a liner in the chimney? What size is that liner? When I priced out the liner you linked to for 35' with insulation which is required for wood it came out to $1715 and that is thin wall liner which we would not install for a wood stove.

 

[toddnic]

$6500 sounds high but we dont know what all is involved and what was done by the other company which now needs undone. Our price for a normal 35' 8" liner install would be roughly $4000. But we would really need more info to know what needs done. What stove is going into this chimney? Is there a liner in the chimney? What size is that liner? When I priced out the liner you linked to for 35' with insulation which is required for wood it came out to $1715 and that is thin wall liner which we would not install for a wood stove.

Thanks for the input! This family has a insert (not a woodstove) in their fireplace. I don't know the size needed for the liner. It could be 6" or 7". I'm not sure. I agree with your initial assessment that we don't know what damage may have been done by the previous company that is no longer in business. The problem in our area is that there are communities that are very high $$$$ retirement areas and sometimes the pricing can be exceptionally expensive. Do you have any suggestions as to maybe how I could do an initial diagnosis of what is going on?

 

[bholler]

If it is now smoking into the house they obviously compromised the draft somehow. That could be by using an undersized liner by crimping the liner or any number of other problems. What did the other sweep who gave them an estimate say the problem was? You also need to find out what insert it is. And by the way an insert is still a wood stove just one made to fit into a fireplace.