Masonry liner enough?

[faultymechanics]

Hey everyone, need some help.

MESys boiler is going in currently to replace the old propane boiler.

My HVAC guy said he used a mirror and thinks the masonry liner is in good shape and they can just clean out the bottom and I shouldn’t need a insulated Liner.
Is that a bad idea? The house is 95 years old although I don’t think the chimney is that old but maybe.

Im thinking I should try to get an insulated liner installed before they hook up the boiler but I’m looking for advice. I’ll paste below exactly what my HVAC company said as reference.

“I also wanted to talk to you about the chimney. I looked up it with a mirror and see no reason to run a liner. The masonry liner looked good to me. With that said, if we did have to line it in the future, it would be a challenge because of a sharp jog in the flue to make room for the fireplace on the first floor. Aside from cleaning out the bottom of the chimney before we connect to it, I see no need for further action regarding the chimney at this time.”

I trust this HVAC company and they’ve been great but I know they don’t specialize in Chimney work. Also sounds like it may be tough to get a liner in there but in my mind that’s no excuse for an unsafe setup(if using no liner is unsafe).

thanks!!

 

[laynes69]

Is the chimney shared with the fireplace? If so you cannot install the boiler in the flue. A dedicated liner would need to be installed. @bholler

 

[bholler]

Hey everyone, need some help.

MESys boiler is going in currently to replace the old propane boiler.

My HVAC guy said he used a mirror and thinks the masonry liner is in good shape and they can just clean out the bottom and I shouldn’t need a insulated Liner.
Is that a bad idea? The house is 95 years old although I don’t think the chimney is that old but maybe.

Im thinking I should try to get an insulated liner installed before they hook up the boiler but I’m looking for advice. I’ll paste below exactly what my HVAC company said as reference.

“I also wanted to talk to you about the chimney. I looked up it with a mirror and see no reason to run a liner. The masonry liner looked good to me. With that said, if we did have to line it in the future, it would be a challenge because of a sharp jog in the flue to make room for the fireplace on the first floor. Aside from cleaning out the bottom of the chimney before we connect to it, I see no need for further action regarding the chimney at this time.”

I trust this HVAC company and they’ve been great but I know they don’t specialize in Chimney work. Also sounds like it may be tough to get a liner in there but in my mind that’s no excuse for an unsafe setup(if using no liner is unsafe).

thanks!!

Simply looking up the flue with a mirror is in no way enough of an inspection to know if it is safe to use.

Is the chimney shared with the fireplace? If so you cannot install the boiler in the flue. A dedicated liner would need to be installed. @bholler

A shared chimney is fine. A shared flue is not. Because it says the flue jogs around the fireplace I am assuming it has its own flue.

 

[faultymechanics]

Simply looking up the flue with a mirror is in no way enough of an inspection to know if it is safe to use.


A shared chimney is fine. A shared flue is not. Because it says the flue jogs around the fireplace I am assuming it has its own flue.

That’s what I was thinking. When the Sweep came the other week he used a really cool camera to record and take photos all the way up the wood stove liner. I’m going to try and get them back next week to get a liner in for the boiler. It just seems like the safest move to make even if it costs me $1800.

Definitely two separate flues in this chimney, thankfully that has been confirmed.

 

[bholler]

That’s what I was thinking. When the Sweep came the other week he used a really cool camera to record and take photos all the way up the wood stove liner. I’m going to try and get them back next week to get a liner in for the boiler. It just seems like the safest move to make even if it costs me $1800.

Definitely two separate flues in this chimney, thankfully that has been confirmed.

$1800 for a liner in a flue that offsets around a fireplace is probably on the low side. It is pretty common to need to cut holes in the chimney to get a liner around those offsets.

 

[faultymechanics]

$1800 for a liner in a flue that offsets around a fireplace is probably on the low side. It is pretty common to need to cut holes in the chimney to get a liner around those offsets.

Im going to hope when they have me that estimate they were thinking about that....however, doesn’t sound like it.

When you say cut the chimney, do you mean internally? Or cut through the outside?

 

[bholler]

Im going to hope when they have me that estimate they were thinking about that....however, doesn’t sound like it.

When you say cut the chimney, do you mean internally? Or cut through the outside?

Cut through the outside

 

[faultymechanics]

Cut through the outside

Yuck!

Can this be done without ruining the looks of the chimney? I have to say our chimney is in very good condition externally and is an attractive piece of the home.

 

[bholler]

Yuck!

Can this be done without ruining the looks of the chimney? I have to say our chimney is in very good condition externally and is an attractive piece of the home.

If you hire someone who knows what they are doing and cares yes it can be done so you won't see it.