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ribidibi

Stainless steel chimney liners - has anyone used?

ribidibi
12 years ago

We need chimney work, as does our neighbor. So I volunteered to research it. Has anyone here had experience with the flexible and/or rigid stainless steel chimney liners? Both our houses are about 105 years old and are located in Boston, MA. I've included a link to a page on one manufacturer's site that has articles of interest that I perused; but getting some 1st hand info would make me feel better about it.

Any info on this would be greatly appreciated.

Here is a link that might be useful: Industry articles re steel chimney liners

Comments (8)

  • dave777_2009
    12 years ago

    ribidibi -

    My experience is that of a company trying to rip us off...

    My wife and I rebuilt the upper (from roof up) outer brick portion (not clay flue tiles) of our chimney. Hadn't had a fire in it for years. Asked a reputable company (Seattle/puget sound area) to come out an clean the chimney.

    They came out/cleaned; and gave us a report stating our chimney was toast; and a 'great deal' on having it relined with stainless steel...

    Got me to looking; research, etc. Found out a lot. One - a regular Joe can do this job themselves.

    2. Had several other companies come on out, and give me bids for how much they would charge to line with Stainless.

    All THREE - stated my chimney was FINE; and did not need to be relined. Our house was built in 1950. Two of them (since we are getting ready to sell) told me that they would do a Write UP stating they had inspected our chimney; and it was FINE and SAFE - for FREE. All three of the companies stated it would be good if we had the tile brought up higher; and a crown put on... We did hire one of these companies to do that job. That company added clay tile; but did a lousy job (three times) putting in a new crown.

    They ended up hauling away the crown material they had done (it kept cracking within 24 hours of being done); and I poured the new existing crown. (Gee, no cracks.) sigh...

    Anyway, get several opinions. And Know that you can (if you truly need it) save yourself a ton of dollars - if you do this job yourself.

    A stainless liner does slightly reduce your draft. Usually nothing that you will notice. Flexible is easier to install than non flex. Here are a few links to places which provide how to info to general public; and will sell supplies to you... More info is readily available on the net. Good Luck.

    http://www.chimneylinerinc.com/liners_only_chimney.htm

    http://www.sleepyhollowchimneysupply.com/chimney_liner_superflex_304.htm

    http://www.chimney-liner-central.com/

    http://www.chimneylinerexpress.com/

    David

    PS: the one actual link is just one of the above. I guess you would have to 'copy/paste' the various suggested link texts into a browser..

    I just did a quick search on +diy +liner +stainless +chimney

    Here is a link that might be useful: DIY Chimney Repair

  • ron6519
    12 years ago

    I converted from oil to natural gas in 2000. At that time there was no dictum that you needed to line your chimney with a liner. In 2004 I pulled the vent pipe from the boiler and found a deposit of clay liner at the base of the chimney. I bought a flexible stainless steel liner and installed it in the boiler flue.
    There have been no issues since then.
    Ron

  • windslam
    12 years ago

    I had the flexible stainless installed about 15 years ago and am quite pleased. The chimney is 25 feet tall. They ran the one piece down the flue and surrounded it with a mixture of vermiculite and cement. I have been very happy with it and it is very easy to clean. I would recommend it if you need a relining.

  • newhomeowner-2009
    12 years ago

    Yes, a flexible stainless steel insert was deployed some years ago in the chimney of a wood-burning fireplace in my apartment. You didn't indicate the purpose of the chimney, whether it was for an oil burner or a fireplace.

    The problem from a fireplace perspective is that the diameter of the insert was not great, making it necessary to install a draft inducer fan, which is noisy. I'm a tenant in this building so I had no choice in the matter. My preference would have been to first determine if the fireplace needed a steel insert, which was never done.

  • mainegrower
    12 years ago

    Thousands of people have been happy with quality stainless steel liners, but this is not the only option. There are at least three companies which install poured in place masonry liners. For old unlined brick chimneys this may be a better option than stainless steel. The poured in place liners become an integral part of the chimney and strengthen the entire structure significantly.

    The only company with which I've had direct and very positive experience is Supaflu (www.supaflu.com). When I had this done several years ago, cost was comparable to an ss liner. definitely worth looking into.

  • dennisgli
    12 years ago

    When I had my roof redone I also had the chimney repaired. The mason rebuilt the chimney from the roof up and removed the crumbling parging in the attic portion and replaced it. His recommendation was that since I have oil heat that I not install a liner. If I had a newer, high efficiency gas boiler then he thought a liner was a good idea.

  • jmcat4_comcast_net
    12 years ago

    Hello, I read your post and wanted to let you know that I am one of the owner's of RockSolid Chimney, LLC- a Chimney repair and masonry business out of Natick, MA. We use mostly flexible stainless steel liners because of their warranty and the ability to not rust. Also, when sweeping a chimney, it is much more safe to sweep a stainless steel chimney rather than a clay tile lined chimney. This avoids any cracking of the clay tile, which can lead the flue gases (carbon monoxide, smoke, creosote, etc.) to seep into the house and/or cause a fire against the walls or frame of the house. The stainless steel liner is a lot more easier to maintain and more cost efficient. If you are still in need of chimney work done (or your neighbor as well), please feel free to give our office a call and we will send out our CSIA and OSHA certified chimney sweep to come by for a free estimate. Feel free to call the main number (508) 545-2348 or view our webpage (which is under construction but functional) at rocksolidchimney.com. I hope that I have answered some of the questions or concerns you may have and please feel free to inquire if you should have more questions. Thank you,
    Jen
    Owner
    RockSolid Chimney, LLC

  • ribidibi
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    Thank you all so much for your feedback -- 2 years late with this. Shortly after I posted this, I developed a medical problem, was in the hospital for a month, followed by four surgeries over the next year+. Now, I'm all better and ready to start to take on some major projects. This will be one of them.
    Smiles... Ri

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