A little tube can go a long way to preventing fire hazards
Chimney liners protect your woodwork and masonry and keep your fireplace functional.
Most people pay about $2,500 to have a chimney liner installed.
There are several types of chimney liners, including cast-in-place, metal, and clay liners.
There’s nothing toastier than being curled up in front of a roaring fireplace. One way to make sure the hearth stays as safe as it is warm? Install a chimney liner to help direct fumes up and out of your fireplace. Here’s what to know about chimney liners, including whether you need one and the different types.
A chimney liner, or a flue liner, is a flexible tube that connects to your stove pipe and runs up the length of your chimney. It helps your fireplace and chimney to work efficiently—and safely—by carrying fumes up and out of your chimney.
A liner helps keep the fireplace roaring without starting a roaring blaze elsewhere in your home. A chimney liner, which can be made from many different materials which we’ll discuss a little later, also works to protect the masonry of your chimney walls themselves from extreme heat and flame.
Chimney liners have been in use since the 1940s when inspectors pointed out how dangerously unsafe the unlined chimneys could be as they age. Now, most fire codes make chimney liners a mandatory part of caring for your working fireplace, though the official guidelines vary from state to state. Consult your local Department of Buildings or local chimney liner installer for more information.
In a nutshell, chimney liners make the chimney and chimney stack safer over time. Let’s break down how exactly they do that.
According to the National Bureau for Standards, chimneys without liners let heat move through the chimney so fast that the woodwork near the chimney caught fire in just under 4 hours. Liners help prevent the woodwork from catching fire at all.
Traditional brick and mortar chimneys without liners can do the job, but they also put your health at risk. Over time, an unlined chimney can have its mortar corroded by the forces of combustion. This can cause space for gasses like carbon monoxide to escape from the chimney and into the home. A chimney liner prevents this from happening.
Wood-burning stoves and other stove-based appliances rely on the chimney to be in the best working order. With no liner, or an ill-fitted chimney liner in place, the stove may not have the proper connection it needs, which can mean carbon monoxide in your home, and a wood-burning stove that isn’t working the way it should be.
While chimney liners clearly have benefits, you may wonder if you need one. The short answer is yes. Although they’re not always required by local codes, most fireplace experts recommend chimney liners to protect your home from fire hazards. Some municipalities, like Chicago, require that you have a liner in your chimney. There is even more reason to install a liner if you notice some telltale signs.
Not sure whether you need a chimney liner? Check out the following guidelines.
If your chimney walls are deteriorating, you should call a pro to install a liner. You can spot this issue by looking for areas of the brick and mortar that are crumbling. The faster the deterioration happens, the more important it is you get that liner in stat.
If you notice a condensation problem, or flat out see water in your chimney, you need a chimney liner. This will insulate your chimney to help keep the moisture moving on up—and out.
Chimney liners are required in new construction. But if you just bought your house, you should have your chimney inspected to see if the original chimney liner is damaged. In some cases, it’ll be intact, but older homes will likely need a replacement liner.
If you decide to convert your fireplace from, say, a gas to a wood-burning fireplace (or vice versa), you should have a pro come to see if the liner is still in good enough condition and size to vent well.
Of course, some of the issues above may mean you need to consider larger restoration projects to repair your chimney. If you’ve changed your fireplace, are new to the house, or simply spot some things are amiss, call a pro to come check it out.
Clay and metal are two popular materials used to make chimney liners. There are other options too, and they all have their pros and cons.
Using a lightweight cement material, these liners are cast inside of your chimney. This means a flush, easy, and long-lasting liner. With cast-in-place, you can use whatever fuel in your chimney you like, and you can even provide durability to older chimneys that may need the structural support. But there is a con—the cost of installing a cast-in-place chimney liner is prohibitive to some homeowners.
You’re most likely to find steel and aluminum used to repair or to upgrade aging chimneys. Stainless steel is great for wood burning, gas, or oil, though aluminum can only use gas as a fuel source safely. Metal chimney liners are safe and durable though they are more expensive than clay liners.
Clay tile chimney liners are the most popular option out there. That’s because they are relatively inexpensive, easy to acquire, and can do the job well. That said, in the case of a chimney fire, they cannot absorb the rapidly rising heat, which is worth knowing before you buy.
For the average homeowner, having a chimney liner installed costs about $2,500. For more expensive materials, prices tend to average at $5,000 and could climb to $7,000. With an easy-to-install material like aluminum, the DIY cost of materials and equipment could be as low as $625.
Chimney liners are an essential component of your fireplace’s structure and safety measures. With that in mind, we recommend working with a chimney professional to install or replace a chimney liner to ensure your personal and property safety. Plus, a chimney pro can assess your chimney, recommend the best type of liner for it, and complete the installation efficiently and safely.
A chimney liner installation costs $2,500 on average, but costs can range from $1,500 to $5,000, depending on the materials, labor, and chimney condition. Labor is the dominant cost factor in this task, but it’s worth the investment to ensure a high-quality and long-lasting installation.
The size of the chimney liner you need depends on the size of your fireplace opening. If your opening is 600 square inches or less, you’ll likely need a 9-inch liner. If your opening is between 600 and 760 square inches, you may need a 10-inch liner. For openings from 760 to 940 square inches, you’ll likely need an 11-inch liner. Anything bigger than that will need a 12-inch liner or larger.
Yes, you can put a chimney liner in an old chimney to preserve the original masonry and improve its efficiency and user safety. Retrofitting a chimney liner to an older chimney will help prevent embers and flue gases from causing damage to it, plus it will keep combustion byproducts from sneaking into your home. Be sure to hire a chimney professional to inspect your old chimney before moving forward with the liner installation.
A chimney liner is a good thing to invest in regardless of if you have issues or not. Chimney liners increase the safety of your fireplace. Without a chimney liner, the gasses that get emitted during burning could eventually damage the masonry and create a major fire hazard in your home.
Most chimney liners last between 15 and 20 years, after which time you’ll want to get the liner replaced. Your chimney liner’s lifespan may be slightly less than that if you use your chimney frequently or don’t keep up with proper chimney maintenance and inspections. A chimney pro can tell you for sure if your liner needs to be replaced.
