Chimney Liners

Chimney Liners: A Simple Solution for a Host of Fireplace and Chimney Scenarios in Waukesha County

Yearly chimney and fireplace inspections do more than keep your Waukesha County fireplace operating well. They also identify potential safety or structural hazards … before they become dangerous.

A fairly common revelation during inspections of masonry chimneys is the detection of cracked or damaged clay flue tiles. These tiles line the interior vertical channel that guides smoke up and out. The damage is typically from rapid temperature changes the tiles endure. When fires are started, a blast of heat warms cold tiles very quickly. Over time, the interaction takes a toll.

Cracks in the tiles, even little ones, can leak smoke and gases into the chimney cavity and, potentially, the Waukesha County house. The situation can’t be overlooked.

Luckily, a cost-effective option exists to replacing or reconstructing damaged flue tiles: a stainless steel chimney liner. Butler Chimneys, the top chimney sweep company in Waukesha County, has installed hundreds of liners in the local area.

Connected to the upper mouth of a fireplace, a chimney flue liner is essentially a round tube running the length of the chimney. It carries smoke and gases all the way to the chimney cap, where they are vented outdoors. 

Chimney liner installation is usually a one-day project for Butler Chimneys. Flue tiles inside the chimney are broken out. The stainless liner for chimneys is lowered from the cap, and attached to the fireplace piping.

A new flue liner has a lifetime warranty, usually requiring that the fireplace and chimney are inspected annually. It’s a true “out of sight, out of mind” solution to a multitude of other fireplace issues that can arise - potentially necessitating far more costly repairs.

How do you detect when a chimney liner might be needed? A giveaway is finding efflorescence – a buildup of white, chalky powder – on a chimney’s exterior.

This symptom usually appears when an appliance(s) – such as a furnace or water heater – vents into the chimney. If flue tiles are cracked or damaged, moisture and gases from the appliance(s) can escape into the chimney cavity. They slowly eat away the chimney’s masonry. Efflorescence appears outside as bricks and mortar deteriorate.

If you detect efflorescence, the advisable move is to contact Butler Chimneys without hesitation. Once a chimney structure deteriorates to a certain point, solutions get far more complicated (and costly).

Chimneys might appear simple. Truth is, they hold vital systems that depend on a reliable surrounding structure to function properly. A slight break can put life and home in peril. A chimney liner can address the issues – and line up your Waukesha County home for better days ahead.