The installation is "dead in the water"--

[scotsman]

I've got 25' of insulated liner, encased in mesh, lying in the great room, dining area and kitchen. It's ready to go in the chimney, but I can't figure out how to get it to the roof and into the chimney without tearing up the roof shingles and/or the liner insulation itself--or falling off the roof after doing all of the above! Not sure two guys could get it up there unless they knew what they were doing. Am not looking forward to standing on top of my chimney. I have mild acrophobia, but I'm too Scottish to pay to have it done. So, am now trying to decide just what to do. Stove will be here Thursday.

 

[kscowboy]

Find a crazy friend that is my plan when my time comes. That would be my best friend a couple of years ago we had that ice storm come threw and he had some tree branches that needed cut they were not reachable via extension latter nothing to lean it on so he took to 25 foot latter layed them and with rope and dutch tape made a a frame latter and climed it to the top with chain saw and worked of it for 2 day. Yes he will be comming to climb the top of my roof

 

[BrowningBAR]

We just redid the roof (had old deteriorating cedar shake). I have easy access to all three chimneys. Not only will I be able to attempt my own install for the Mansfield, but I can easily clean my own chimneys, equals a savings of $450, which nearly covers the cost of my yearly wood supply costs going forward (barring any new scrounge finds).

Very exciting... in a wood burning sort of way.

 

[gzecc]

Tboy, give us a picture. We'll tell you if you should man up or remain a boy.

 

[branchburner]

Drop a rope down. Tie to liner, with a cone. Get the liner started at the bottom.
Push.
Go up and pull.
Go back down and push.
Repeat until done, or dead tired, or just dead.

 

[andybaker]

Drop a rope down. Tie to liner, with a cone. Get the liner started at the bottom.
Push.
Go up and pull.
Go back down and push.
Repeat until done, or dead tired, or just dead.

very funny, but true.

 

[fredarm]

Two guys--one to push, one to pull.

 

[Highbeam]

The wife, even if she is weak, can help feed the liner in while you pull it up. Not all jobs are able to be done by yourself and I would rather get a relative or friend to help bring it up to the roof.

 

[scotsman]

Drop a rope down. Tie to liner, with a cone. Get the liner started at the bottom.
Push.
Go up and pull.
Go back down and push.
Repeat until done, or dead tired, or just dead.

That sounds way better. I thought about that, and tried, but I don't think it will make the turn into the FP opening without tearing the insulation and mesh all to pieces. The bottom of the FP opening is only 7 inches above the floor. Top is 24" above that. Looks like only way is from top. I might be wrong, but I'd sure hate to wreck it. Gable of roof is over 35' above ground. Chimney is two feet higher than gable. Roof is 5/12, but seems steeper. Makes my hands sweat just typing about it! It's the getting it to the roof and managing to get it elevated enough to start down the chimney that I can't figure out, even with two people. Then there's the standing on top of the chimney <shudder!> Maybe I have MEDIUM acrophobia rather than mild! Maybe I should call someone to do this!

 

[scotsman]

Tboy, give us a picture. We'll tell you if you should man up or remain a boy.

Very funny! :red: I'll try to do that, but a photo is a hard thing to get on here. I'll work on it.

 

[eba1225]

I had to run my liner from the bottom up as to get the thing in from the roof was a pain. I had everything you had but had to strip it down to just the liner as the insulation and mesh would not fit.

The way that I did it, so that I did not have to climb the ladder dozens of times, was to stand my ladder up against the chimney with a 2x4 (securely attached) extending from the top of the ladder over top of the open flue. Attached to the end of the 2x4 was a pulley on which ran a rope that went from ground through the pulley and down the flue. I tied the inside end of the rope to the liner and the out side end I had a loop. The loop was there so I could use bungie cords to provide a constant tension on the liner to pull it up the chimney.

The process was as such: Outside - draw tension on the rope by stretching the bungie and attached the lower end of the bungie to the ladder, go Inside and feed the liner up the chimney. Once the tension was off the outside rope repeat the process until the liner appeared out the flue. Took about 30 mins to set up the system and 15 mins to pull. The issue was that the flue had beads of cement where the liner sections were connected.

I originally had everything up on the roof trying to feed it down, even with it stripped to bare liner, but that did not work.

Hope this helps.

Erik

 

[scotsman]

Tboy, give us a picture. We'll tell you if you should man up or remain a boy.

Okay, here's my try to put in a photo. The patio is a long way down there! BTW, the patio is 20 feet left to right!

 

[BrotherBart]

Hire somebody for a couple of hours to do the top side work. Call the TEC office and tell them you are looking for an out of work roofer for a couple of hours.

 

[BrowningBAR]

Tboy, give us a picture. We'll tell you if you should man up or remain a boy.

Okay, here's my try to put in a photo. The patio is a long way down there! BTW, the patio is 20 feet left to right!

I hate heights.

 

[Flatbedford]

With that lifetime supply of free 50 year seasoned hardwood you are getting, I think you could splurge on professional help if you are not comfortable. A pro will probably do it in no time and make it look very easy.

 

[iod0816]

I thought the same thing as the Irish in me came out. But when I started to get up there and figured that even with the two other people I had to help, it would take hours to do our first time and 20 something feet up is not somewhere I want to debate things and try stuff out.

So I called around, found a really honest guy who installed my liner for me only a few days later. He installed a damped seal with insulation, gave me a better cap and sealed/insulated it up top. Very little heat loss now. Very nice job, clean and cheap. But that's in MA but after watching them do it, it would be an all day project with 1/4 the detail.

If you have the slightest reservation, hire someone. I did and it was worth every penny. Plus being able to write off the labor in the tax credit is a plus.

 

[scotsman]

I thought the same thing as the Irish in me came out. But when I started to get up there and figured that even with the two other people I had to help, it would take hours to do our first time and 20 something feet up is not somewhere I want to debate things and try stuff out.

So I called around, found a really honest guy who installed my liner for me only a few days later. He installed a damped seal with insulation, gave me a better cap and sealed/insulated it up top. Very little heat loss now. Very nice job, clean and cheap. But that's in MA but after watching them do it, it would be an all day project with 1/4 the detail.

If you have the slightest reservation, hire someone. I did and it was worth every penny. Plus being able to write off the labor in the tax credit is a plus.

Sounds like a heck of an idea! I think I'll call the sweep to do it. He said he'd been doin' 'em since he was eight. He did a good job cleaning the chimney, maybe he'll give me a discount on putting the liner in since I used him for the cleaning work. My acrophobia is feeling better already! :lol: If I was a beer drinker, I'd go have one . . . or two!

 

[rowerwet]

Tboy, give us a picture. We'll tell you if you should man up or remain a boy.

Very funny! :red: I'll try to do that, but a photo is a hard thing to get on here. I'll work on it.

I do all my pics here.
http://www.picresize.com/
fast, easy, free. save the resized pic to your desktop and check properties to see how many kb it is to know if you are under the limit.

 

[thinkxingu]

Tex, are you trying to say you didn't realize the chimney was higher than ground level?! Silly goose--I'da just paid the sweep some cash and be done with it. You'd be warm by the fire by now!

Good luck,

S

 

[scotsman]

Tex, are you trying to say you didn't realize the chimney was higher than ground level?! Silly goose--I'da just paid the sweep some cash and be done with it. You'd be warm by the fire by now!

Good luck,

S

Yes, well, no, not trying to say that at all. My Scottish blood objects to paying for work that it thinks I can do! BUT, once you're up there, it's a heck of a lot farther down than it is when you're on the ground looking up. Just standing up there holding on to the chimney gives me the heebeegeebees bad enough. I cannot imagine standing up on top of the chimney trying to work the liner into the chimney while not trying to fall off the darn thing! So, after looking at it one more time, I called the sweep and, after negotiating for several minutes, got the installation set up for next Monday. He was already booked solid when he came to sweep last Friday, so I wouldn't be sitting by the fire just yet in any event, since the stove won't be here until Thursday. But I'm sure looking forward to seeing how he gets that liner up there and into the chimney. It may well be worth it just to see how he does it. Lynda argued that one fall from the roof would cost more than his fee to install it. Can't really rebut that logic.

 

[hilly]

My chimney is at the top of our A-frame house. When I see the sweep up there I can't help but think it is the best $70 I spend each year.