Old house new fire advice

[Usurper]

Hi all,
I am looking for advice, my wife and i just moved to a new "fixer upper" and although at first we were going to not have a wood fire in this place, one cool ish day made us miss our old fire. i have attached some photos which i hope show what i am dealing with/trying to explain.
there was a big old wood burning stove there which i took out as the back where the vent/flue goes is all rotted. ( 1st 2 photos ).
the outside brick chimney appears to have a rotten collapsing liner, which maybe insulated ( photos 3 and 4 ) as there is a wooden hatch to gain access to it. we wish to install a fairly small free standing wood burning stove, so my question is what sort of flue/chimney pipe i should be looking at.
any guidance would be appreciated, and i apologize in advance for what maybe stupid questions.
thank you.

 

[begreen]

Looks like something homebuilt that may have put black stove pipe inside of an old metal chimney. Hard to tell, but what is clear is that it all needs to be torn out and replaced with a proper insulated liner.

 

[Usurper]

Looks like something homebuilt that may have put black stove pipe inside of an old metal chimney. Hard to tell, but what is clear is that it all needs to be torn out and replaced with a proper insulated liner.

That was my thinking once i got over the shock of seeing what i can see in the chinmey, i do not suppose you or anyone could point me in the right direction for the appropriate insulated liner please?

 

[begreen]

Rockford Chimney sells good products. Once the current mess is all removed the options should be clearer.

 

[Usurper]

I’d actually typed this out and not clicked post.
Very thankful for the reply as it seems like the solution.

Pre Insulated Chimney Liner Kit | Insulated Flexible Chimney Liner Kit - Rockford Chimney

Free shipping on Pre Insulated flexible chimney liner kits. The Pre Insulated chimney liner is UL Listed & features 1/2" insulation to keep flue gases hot.

www.rockfordchimneysupply.com

i admit i am getting ahead of myself as we do not have a fire yet, but i am just trying to budget everything out

 

[begreen]

Start from scratch, including the stove. Assume nothing was done right, even the pass-through. You'll have a more satisfying and peaceful result knowing all is in order.

 

[Usurper]

Start from scratch, including the stove. Assume nothing was done right, even the pass-through. You'll have a more satisfying and peaceful result knowing all is in order.

Yeah new stove and new chimney is the plan I just wanted to make sure I’m doing it right. I have no issues with some hard work as long as I am doing things correct

 

[begreen]

It's a fairly short chimney, so pick an easy breathing stove as a replacement.

 

[Usurper]

It's a fairly short chimney, so pick an easy breathing stove as a replacement.

Thank you, i am actually looking forward to starting this as soon as some more pressing issues are fixed. i think the top of the chimney cowl ( metal shroud thing ) is around 15ft from the opening where the back of the fire will be.

 

[bholler]

Thank you, i am actually looking forward to starting this as soon as some more pressing issues are fixed. i think the top of the chimney cowl ( metal shroud thing ) is around 15ft from the opening where the back of the fire will be.

That's not bad. I think you might need a prefab chimney in there. (It looks like that is what you had) but it's hard to tell without being onsite

 

[EbS-P]

Is the wood in top the last picture part of the door or is more integral framing to the chimney?

 

[Usurper]

That's not bad. I think you might need a prefab chimney in there. (It looks like that is what you had) but it's hard to tell without being onsite

That sounds terrifying

 

[Usurper]

Is the wood in top the last picture part of the door or is more integral framing to the chimney?

I will take another look shortly, just getting fueled on coffee before more plumbing woes.

 

[bholler]

That sounds terrifying

Why?

 

[Usurper]

Is the wood in top the last picture part of the door or is more integral framing to the chimney?

It’s just a frame for the 2 wood panels. There’s also a second pipe. I’ve no idea what that is about.

 

[Usurper]

Why?

Because I have no idea what it means 😔

 

[bholler]

Because I have no idea what it means 😔

Haha ok. To me it looks like you currently have what's left of a metal multi layer chimney in a brick chase. If that chance is actually a full masonry chimney just without a liner you may be able to just install an insulated liner and brick that door shut. But we can't really see everything from your pics. And you won't be able to until you pull out what's there.

 

[zak77]

And what is that other steel pipe(flue?) for? That's on it's last leg. Since you have combustibles near by you'll probably need a class A chimney system, i like Selkirk. If you don't know what you need to do you probably want to reach out to the local building inspector to see what he'll require. You're whole setup needs to meet the local building codes so if you dont know those, you need to learn them.

 

[Garbanzo62]

Is there a furnace in the basement. That second pipe might be the furnace flue pipe

 

[peakbagger]

My two cents, unless you love the look of the chimney, tie a cable to it and yank it off the side of the building. It would be helpful if you changed your signature to show what part of the country you are in as it may impact suggestions. It looks like an add on to me that had draft issues, therefore the ugly sheet metal extension piece. it looks like a one story building in that area so consider relocating the stove closer to the ridge pole up the roof and doing a straight up shot from the stove up through an attic and through the roof with proper roof transition, the manufacturers have some slick systesm that if installed to their instructions do not leak. Unless someone was a pro at flashing, it is likely that there are leaks between the chimney and the house as that is a tough place to flash as any rain coming down off the roof gets some velocity to it before it hits the bricks and eventually finds its way inside the wall. At a minimum consider a "cricket" https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cricket_(roofing) on the roof to split the flow around the chimney. My guess is that brickwork behind the stove is covering some "sins" and rot. Odds are the place has minimal insulation so opening up the walls, cleaning up any rot and reinsulating is money well spent. Unless you love the look of that wall of brick you can look for a new stove with a rear heat shield with shallower rear clearance and take up less space.

BTW, please destroy that stove, if it is what I think it is, its just a sheetmetal combustion chamber that was way to thin when it came out of the box, dont let someone else burn their house down with it.

 

[bholler]

Do not just pull the chimney down. Removal may be the best option we just don't know at this point. But pulling it down has huge risks to the structure of the house

 

[Usurper]

My two cents, unless you love the look of the chimney, tie a cable to it and yank it off the side of the building. It would be helpful if you changed your signature to show what part of the country you are in as it may impact suggestions. It looks like an add on to me that had draft issues, therefore the ugly sheet metal extension piece. it looks like a one story building in that area so consider relocating the stove closer to the ridge pole up the roof and doing a straight up shot from the stove up through an attic and through the roof with proper roof transition, the manufacturers have some slick systesm that if installed to their instructions do not leak. Unless someone was a pro at flashing, it is likely that there are leaks between the chimney and the house as that is a tough place to flash as any rain coming down off the roof gets some velocity to it before it hits the bricks and eventually finds its way inside the wall. At a minimum consider a "cricket" https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cricket_(roofing) on the roof to split the flow around the chimney. My guess is that brickwork behind the stove is covering some "sins" and rot. Odds are the place has minimal insulation so opening up the walls, cleaning up any rot and reinsulating is money well spent. Unless you love the look of that wall of brick you can look for a new stove with a rear heat shield with shallower rear clearance and take up less space.

BTW, please destroy that stove, if it is what I think it is, its just a sheetmetal combustion chamber that was way to thin when it came out of the box, dont let someone else burn their house down with it.

It appears you were dead on the money, the fire surround was leaning forward so after putting out proverbial fires elsewhere in the house, today i got back to the fire and took down the brick, only to find there is literally NOTHING between the chimney and outside wood siding. water has been pouring in rotting the beam and sub floor. i am all kinds of fried mentally now, we moved into all sorts of issues we were not aware of that the inspector missed or happened post inspection. i do not know what to do from here to be perfectly honest.

 

[Garbanzo62]

If the Inspector missed glaring defects you might have a case against them. I would check the inspection contract to see what it says. A call to a lawyer might be appropriate. At a minimum a bad Review about the missed Major Defect should be posted online.

 

[Usurper]

Do not just pull the chimney down. Removal may be the best option we just don't know at this point. But pulling it down has huge risks to the structure of the house

updated what i found behind the brick inside. i fear it has to come down now though.

 

[Usurper]

If the Inspector missed glaring defects you might have a case against them. I would check the inspection contract to see what it says. A call to a lawyer might be appropriate. At a minimum a bad Review about the missed Major Defect should be posted online.

He missed all sorts of things, he was recommended to us, but i am sure there is probably some small print that exonerates him. We are almost out of money already and now this chimney issue.


EDIT : contract states at the bottom.
"The home inspection is based on the observations made on the date of the inspection, and not a prediction of future conditions. The home inspection will not reveal every issue that exists or ever could exist, but only those material defects observed on the date of the inspection. "