TLDR: Should my chimney crown have an expansion joint between the flue tile and the concrete crown? (Photos at the bottom)
Longer version
My wife and I are first time homeowners in the PNW. We have had a few power outages and wanted to prepare our chimney/fireplace for an insert. As part of getting our chimney swept we were told that our chimney crown needed to be replaced due to cracks forming in the crown and the threat of water infiltration. We decided that replacing the crown and some flashing is better to do now than replacing the chimney later. Since the chimney sweep admitted to being new in the trade (less than 2 years) we decided to seek out a more experienced company to do the work.
We hired a CSIA certified chimney sweep company to pour a new crown. Before they started their work I had a few questions about my experience using the fire place, and when they technician looked in my fireplace he told me that he thought we needed a PCR cleaning ($2000) and a spray in parging ($1200) on top of the new crown and new flashing they were installing that day. I felt a bit like they were trying to turn a $3100 job into a $6300 job. They finished up a little after dark and told me they'd come get their forms in about 7 days.
The morning after they finished I went up on the roof to see the work they had done and noticed that they hadn't left an expansion joint around the flue tile. I felt around the base of the tile and didn't feel a seem around the flue. In the photos the flue on the left is the wood burning fire place and the flue on the right is a gas flue. The wood burning fireplace flue is maybe 14" across. I have a couple of questions:
1) Are expansion joints around flue tiles in the crown standard practice?
2) Is it possible the expansion joint is below the concrete surface? (When I felt the seem with my fingers I couldn't detect anything other than concrete going right up to the flue tile)
3) Is this something that is cut in after they remove the form and seal up with a special kind of caulking?
Really looking for some help here so I can figure out how to follow up with the company when they come back to get their forms.
Longer version
My wife and I are first time homeowners in the PNW. We have had a few power outages and wanted to prepare our chimney/fireplace for an insert. As part of getting our chimney swept we were told that our chimney crown needed to be replaced due to cracks forming in the crown and the threat of water infiltration. We decided that replacing the crown and some flashing is better to do now than replacing the chimney later. Since the chimney sweep admitted to being new in the trade (less than 2 years) we decided to seek out a more experienced company to do the work.
We hired a CSIA certified chimney sweep company to pour a new crown. Before they started their work I had a few questions about my experience using the fire place, and when they technician looked in my fireplace he told me that he thought we needed a PCR cleaning ($2000) and a spray in parging ($1200) on top of the new crown and new flashing they were installing that day. I felt a bit like they were trying to turn a $3100 job into a $6300 job. They finished up a little after dark and told me they'd come get their forms in about 7 days.
The morning after they finished I went up on the roof to see the work they had done and noticed that they hadn't left an expansion joint around the flue tile. I felt around the base of the tile and didn't feel a seem around the flue. In the photos the flue on the left is the wood burning fire place and the flue on the right is a gas flue. The wood burning fireplace flue is maybe 14" across. I have a couple of questions:
1) Are expansion joints around flue tiles in the crown standard practice?
2) Is it possible the expansion joint is below the concrete surface? (When I felt the seem with my fingers I couldn't detect anything other than concrete going right up to the flue tile)
3) Is this something that is cut in after they remove the form and seal up with a special kind of caulking?
Really looking for some help here so I can figure out how to follow up with the company when they come back to get their forms.
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