Chimney Care Company's Blog
Now is the Perfect Time to Reline Your Chimney!
What sort of shape is your chimney liner in? Within your chimney system, the chimney liner is responsible for the brunt of the work. It keeps your home safe from the heat and smoke that travels up the chimney. It also ensures that air draws effectively through your fireplace and chimney. A failure of the chimney flue can jeopardize the function of your fireplace and put your home at risk. So if your chimney liner isn’t doing its job properly, now is the perfect time to reline your chimney!
The Importance of Your Chimney Liner
If your chimney liner isn’t in great shape, your chimney simply won’t function. A chimney liner that isn’t functioning can make your fireplace unpleasant to use or even put your home in danger. According to the Chimney Safety Institute of America, your chimney liner serves three main purposes:
• Protecting the building structure from the heat of the fireplace. A chimney structure on its own can’t contain the heat that travels up the chimney from the fireplace. The chimney liner serves to contain the heat from the fireplace so the extreme temperatures that travel up your chimney can’t damage or ignite the surrounding building structure.
• Protecting the chimney structure from fire byproducts. The soot and creosote that result from a burning fireplace are highly corrosive. If allowed to come into contact with the chimney structures, these byproducts would corrode and degrade the chimney structure over time. In addition, the chimney liner acts as a layer of protection for the chimney structure.
• Creating a proper draft for your fireplace. The size and height of your chimney liner matters. The flue that the liner creates is what determines how well your fireplace will draw in air for combustion and send smoke up the chimney. If your chimney liner isn’t the right size for your fireplace, the fire will burn less efficiently, and smoke will also find its way back into your home.
Relining Your Chimney
If your chimney liner isn’t functioning properly, your chimney will need to be relined to keep your home safe or improve the function of your chimney. Common problems include developed cracks or holes due to age and improperly sized liners for your hearth appliance. There are two primary ways for relining chimneys:
• Stainless steel chimney liners. One of the fastest ways to reline a chimney is with a stainless steel chimney liner. To reline the chimney, insert and secure into place a stainless steel liner that’s the right size for your chimney.
• Cerfractory sealant. For masonry chimney liners, a specialized cerfractor cement can be poured down into the chimney then smoothed into place with a specialized plug. As it’s smoothed down, the cement reseals the chimney liner, filling in any cracks, gaps or holes that have degraded the function of the liner.
If your chimney needs to be relined, spring is the perfect time to do it, and Chimney Care Co. help! By relining your chimney now, you can take advantage of lighter chimney service schedules to schedule your chimney service at your convenience. You also know that your chimney will be ready to keep your home safe and your fireplace drafting properly next fall. Call to schedule your appointment today!