Currently have a small wood burner with rear vent. Six-inch stack elbows than goes into 8-inch metal chimney and through ceiling. Good performance over many years. Drawbacks: Small attic gets very warm and humid. Ice dams form along roof. Difficult to inspect where passes through attic. Cleaning is dirty affair--- partially done from below in living room. Solution being considered along with new construction: Erect cement block chimney in new entrance hallway (opposite wall behind stove). Brick exterior for appearance. Thimble through wall to chimney. Leave ceiling above open (cathedral style) for added visibility where passes through roof. Back-fill from ground to floor level. Install clean-out a foot or so above floor. Any problems apparent in this scheme? Also, (1) Is a 3-foot horizontal distance from stove vent into chimney acceptable for decent draft? (2) Is a masonry chimney just as durable/weather resistant--especially above roof-- as a metal one? (3) Am accustomed to running a brush from roof all the way down the metal chimney. Would chimney with a thimble/pipe protruding into it present any serious cleaning issues? Could switch to a framed-in metal chimney if you think metal superior. Thanks for any ideas.