Watched a 50-year-old chimney in my town get a full reline and the difference was night and day

I had to do a full stainless steel reline on this old house in Portland last week. The original clay flue was cracked in three spots and had soot buildup probably a inch thick in places. After we pulled the old liner out and ran the new one, the draft changed completely. The homeowner said her fireplace used to smoke up the room every time she lit a fire, and now it pulls clean and steady. I think the main issue was the cracks letting air in and messing up the flow. It took me about 6 hours total with my crew, but the before and after was something else. Has anyone else seen a old clay liner cause that much trouble with smoking? I'm wondering if I should push more homeowners to reline instead of just patching.

2 comments

2 Comments

bettyh846d ago

My buddy in Salem had the exact same problem with his 1920s house last winter. He tried patching the clay liner twice and it still smoked like a campfire every time the wind came from the north. He finally called a crew to do a full stainless reline and he said it was like having a whole new fireplace. The draft was so strong after that it actually pulled ash out of the firebox and up the chimney, which he never had before. I think a lot of homeowners just don't realize how much those old clay liners degrade over time, especially with the freeze-thaw cycles we get here.

emma_mitchell6d ago

Respectfully, patching works fine if you do it right and the liner isn't totally shot yet lol.