Chimney Liners

Chimney Liners: A Simple Fix for a Host of Fireplace and Chimney Scenarios in Lake Forest

Annual chimney and fireplace inspections do more than keep your Lake Forest fireplace operating well. They also spot 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 lit, a blast of heat warms cold tiles very quickly. Over time, the interaction takes a toll.

Cracks in the tiles, even little ones, can allow smoke and gases into the chimney cavity and, potentially, the Lake Forest house. The issue can’t be overlooked.

Luckily, a cost-effective solution exists to replacing or reconstructing damaged flue tiles: a stainless steel chimney liner. Butler Chimneys, the top chimney sweep company in Lake Forest, has put in 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 released outside. 

Chimney liner installation is normally 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 on condition that the fireplace and chimney are inspected annually. It’s a genuine “out of sight, out of mind” fix 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 required? A clue is seeing efflorescence – a buildup of white, chalky powder – on a chimney’s exterior.

This indicator 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 spot efflorescence, the advisable move is to contact Butler Chimneys right away. Once a chimney structure breaks down to a certain level, solutions get far more complex (and costly).

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