Rockford Chimney Supply Newsletter | September 2010

Why Reline Your Chimney?

A chimney liner, or flue, is the inner portion of a chimney that contains and channels the products of combustion. Most masonry chimneys are constructed with an inner liner of clay tiles. In some cases an original clay tile liner was never installed. In others, the tile lining may have cracked, crumbled and deteriorated over time- water damage, chimney fires, or just age can cause the deterioration of a clay liner.

For a chimney liner to work properly, it must be free from perforations, cracks, or damage of any kind. If it isn't, it can allow the products of combustion, such as carbon monoxide, moisture, smoke, and creosote, to seep into the living spaces of the home, or the heat from the products of combustion to pose a fire risk to combustible materials near the flue such as framing, walls, ceilings, insulation, or floors.

With a replacement chimney liner, you can fix the problem without having to repair or replace existing damaged tiles in the chimney. In most cases you can do the installation yourself.

Another situation in which a new liner can be helpful is if the chimney is too wide to create sufficient draft for your fireplace. If that is the case, a new, smaller liner will reduce the effective chimney size and increase draft.

Tips on Relining

• Repair or replacement chimney liners typically are made of either rigid stainless steel or flexible stainless steel.
• When deciding between a rigid or flexible liner bear in mind that, although a rigid liner has the advantage of smooth walls, a flexible liner is far easier to install.
• If you only need to reline about 12 feet of straight chimney, go with rigid liner. If you have a taller chimney or one with bends in it, flexible liner is your best choice.

Rockford now offers Rock-Flex Deluxe smooth wall flexible liner that provides better airflow than standard flexible liner. Adding insulation when you install the liner will also help prevent the buildup of creosote by keep more heat inside the liner.

Rockford Chimney Supply has an excellent selection of chimney liner sizes and materials. If you would like to learn more, please give us a call at 1-866-708-2446. We look forward to hearing from you!

Did You Know?

The Autumnal Equinox occurs this year on September 22, 2010.