Five Important Queries for any Chimney Relining Process

If someone suggests chimney relining for your home, it is important to ask questions so you can decide if they are the right person to complete this job.

Any serious work involving your chimney is always better off left in the hands of a professional. While you can probably clean the chimney yourself, making improvements or adjustments is a complex process. If you are thinking about getting chimney relining done, call a professional and ask them about the services they offer. Along with getting their rate and other information, ask them a few questions about the process when they arrive at your home.

When you speak with a professional about the chimney relining process, you can better understand why they are taking certain measures. It also lets you decide whether this person is the right fit for the job. Here are five important queries for any Chimney relining professional:

1. Will the new liner be insulated?

If they are installing a new liner, you need to know whether insulation is required. If the liner is going to vent solid fuel appliances, insulation is an absolute must. Sometimes insulation is also preferable for venting oil or gas appliances. Talk with the chimney professional and get their opinion on insulation.

2. Is there a warranty?

If you are replacing your old or damaged liner, you should ask about any possible warranties for the new one. This is helpful if you ever need repairs or periodical inspections of the liner in the future. Also ask if there are any specific terms in the warranty that may result in its voidance. A lot of chimney liner warranties specify that a professional must complete the installation, and inspect the liner at least one time every 12 months.

3. Is the new chimney liner UL listed, or tested for UL standards?

There are two distinct types of chimney liners, in terms of their standards. The Underwriter Laboratories, or UL, listing means that a liner is probably of a higher quality. There are also liners that meet UL standards, but are inspected by different organizations. It is up to you whether you want to go with a genuine UL listing, or do not mind a tested to UL standards liner.

4. What stainless steel alloy makes up this liner?

There are a number of alloys used for these appliances, but 316Ti is the most common. This alloy is very resistance to the corrosive elements that come through in gas and oil flue gasses. If the appliance you use is very efficient, you may need the AL29 4C alloy. Your professional should be able to assess your appliance and determine a suitable alloy.

5. Does the chimney liner impact the vent’s performance?

If you are getting a new chimney liner installed by a professional, the end result should be better venting performance. If the venting performance is the same as before, or worse, it means there is something wrong with the type of liner chosen or its installation.

These questions help you make an informed decision about the type of chimney liner you need, along with who should be installing this liner. Do not leave everything in the hands of a professional, because it is better to take a proactive stance with anything involving your home.

Five Questions to Ask During Chimney Liner Installation

If you are getting a chimney liner installation done by a professional, it is important to ask them certain questions in order to cover all your bases.

Whenever you are getting something installed in your home, it is important to learn all about the process, its risks and how to get it done efficiently. With chimney liner installation, it makes sense to talk with an expert and have them complete the job. However, you still want to ask them certain types of questions, in order to get a better understanding for how they work and what they plan to do with your chimney. Here is a look at five important questions to ask during a chimney liner installation.

1. Is it necessary for me to get a new chimney liner?

If someone is suggesting that you get a new chimney liner, it is a good idea to ask them why they believe this process is necessary. As far as chimneys are concerned, there are three main reasons why you would require a new liner.

A – Right now, your chimney does not have a clay tile liner, which is very common among older chimneys.

B – The clay tile liner on your chimney is damaged right now.

C – You need a chimney liner to improve the performance and safety of your home because you just installed a new heating unit, such as a stove or furnace. If this is going through your masonry chimney, it is very important to get a liner.

2. Is there any damage to my chimney right now? Can you please show it to me?

If someone is suggesting there is a problem with your chimney and you need a new liner, it is a good idea to ask them to demonstrate this issue. When you see the problem yourself, you get a much better sense for why a certain solution is necessary. Professionals can take a photo or video of your chimney from the inside, revealing the damaged or missing liner.

3. Will the liner fix my chimney problems?

If the professional can give you a proper answer on how the liner fixes the issues you are currently facing, they are the right person for this job.

4. What is the process of getting the liner fit into the flue?

There are concerns with fitting a stainless steel liner into a chimney, because these liners typically have attached insulation. Your professional must be able to indicate whether fitting this liner into the chimney is an issue. And if it is an issue, they can present you with their plan to resolve it.

5. What liner will you install?

In terms of chimney liners, you have the option of light, high performance light and heavy liners that are available for chimneys. Whoever is installing your chimney liner must be able to tell you which liner fits your needs, and why that is the case. If they cannot give you a proper answer, or they keep asking you to choose a type of liner, perhaps they are not the right person for the job.

If you ask a professional chimney line installer these questions, you will have a better sense for how they work and for what is wrong with your chimney.

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CHIMNEY RELINING

There was a time when chimneys were not lined.Much property was lost due to the lack of that protection.
In 1904, the National Fire Prevention Association (NFPA) prepared its first codification on chimneys and fireplaces. That codification has undergone many changes. The most recent standard is NFPA 211, 2013.Here we will concentrate on Chapter 4 (General Requirements) and Chapter 7 (Masonry Chimneys).

Naturally, any change in the lining of the chimney must be done according to current NFPA standards in order for that property to be insurable.

First, from Chapter 4 (General Requirements) we get this: “Castable” or plastic refractories used to line chimneys or connectors shall be the equivalent in resistance to heat and erosion by flue gases to that of… fireclay brick.” Fireclay brick has a heat transfer thermal conductivity of 500 degrees Centigrade, 932 degrees Fahrenheit. It becomes more important, however, when the lining supports are considered. According to NFPA 211, Chapter 4, “Lining made of castable or plastic [ceramic] refractories shall be secured to the supporting walls by anchors made of corrosion-resistant steel capable of supporting the refractoryload at 1,500 degrees Fahrenheit, 816 degrees Centigrade.” Some definitions might help:

•    Thermal conductivity is "the quantity of heat transmitted through a unit thickness of a material - in a direction normal to a surface of unit area - due to a unit temperature gradient under steady state conditions," according to www.engineeringtoolbox.com.

•    Castable liners: to begin with, a castable liner exists to protect the chimney’s masonry from corrosion from the products of combustion. It’s mixed like cement and fills the void spaces around the flues. This liner would be perhaps the best choice among all the options for your chimney.However, it may not be the easiest choice for relining one.

•    Refractory—its definition is “resistance to heat.”

It follows that since yours is not a new construction, you’ll be faced with a retrofit of your existing chimney. Unless that chimney has fallen, you must now reline it to fit the standards as closely as possible. Therefore, we will assume a standing structure placed on a code-matching foundation.It’s small consolation to know that if the house burns down, the chimney will continue to stand. The mason who works on your chimney relining must know:

•    The concrete or noncombustible material on which the chimney has been placed has a fire resistance rating of not less than 3 hours.

•    That if it was built according to existing code, it does not require the building itself in order to stand and the load is transferred to the ground, and

•    There may be limitations on corbeling of masonry chimneys, processes of widening the chimney’s base. There are many requirements for corbels; only somebody familiar with the NFPA Standard 211 should be selected to do the work.

The standard is extensive. There are requirements for flue sizes, proximity to roof structures, pass-throughs for ceilings and floors. There are numerous standards for cleanout facilities, including standards for doors—distances from floors and markings for the door.

The person who works on this chimney relining must know where the bottom of the flue must be positioned. He must know how to “firestop” all spaces through which the chimney passes with noncombustible material. He must know to use galvanized steel or noncombustible sheet material where the chimney passes close to wood joists, beams, or headers.

There are other concerns. Included here are reinforcement for seismic and wind activity, thimbles (pass-through fittings for chimneys) and smoke tests where the chimney is proved to be tight.

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AIR DUCT CLEANING

The number of places where people can smoke is rapidly decreasing. We can’t outlaw tobacco, but we can raise awareness that second-hand smoke affects lungs. However, the limitations on indoor smoking are minor when evaluating the air quality to which we subject ourselves.

We have built buildings that are self-contained cocoons. We’re concerned with security, so we don’t open windows. We insulate against energy leakage. We have central air conditioning and heat distribution.

Air Movement

All of these have value, of course, but all involve the piping of air throughout our buildings. We handle cyclical air movement by:

•    Filtering input air
•    Distributing air
•    Returning air

It’s an engineering exercise with concern for these:

•    Airflow volumes
•    Air exchanges
•    Air density
•    Airflow resistance

These all become a part of planning for the air system in a home or commercial building.Dry air (think Phoenix)leads to leakage. Humid air (think Seattle)leads to condensation and mold. Conditioned air puts restrictions on how we design our air systems and how they are maintained, particularly concerning air duct cleaning.

Contaminants

What about dirt? It’s everywhere, in variable particle sizes carried on moving air. Some of that dirt is on us; some merely swirls around us. Air carries hundreds of cubic feet per minute of common ordinary dust. In a forced hot air or air conditioning system that carries external air, that dirt is introduced into the duct work of your building.

While some people are sensitive or allergic to dust, it doesn’t affect us all. However, when that dust becomes moist, you are inviting mold—and that does affect many.

Filtration

So what do we do? We introduce filters into the airflow to collect dust. New furnace and air conditioning filters are as close as your nearest home products store.

How reliable are they? A furnace operates less than a quarter of the year; an air conditioner likewise; depending on where you’re located. Cheap fiber-constructed filters for air systems do well at removing large dust particles, yet the smaller particles pass.

These filters fail to trap the smaller particles initially but do so if they are not changed as recommended. As the filter plugs, fewer small particles pass. Given time and a good vacuum cleaner, more dust will be gathered by the household appliance than by the filters in the air movement system.

The fact remains, however, that for some period, the smaller particles are admitted by the filters and the duct work becomes progressively contaminated. There becomes a buildup inside the ducts. That buildup impedes efficient airflow. If the duct work grabbed the particles and hung onto them, that would be one thing. However, many of those particles lodge there temporarily and then continue movement—into your home or building—unless you remove them and get your Air Duct Cleaning.