Because the inside of your chimney isn’t something you see every day, you might not realize how important a chimney liner is for keeping your fireplace hearth safe and comfortable. The liner’s job is to enable combustion material from the hearth fires to escape up the chimney and prevent harmful residue like creosote from forming. Not all chimneys have liners; if you reside in an older home, the chimney may have been built without one at the time of construction. If this is the situation with your property, you should absolutely contact a local chimney expert business and have them assist you in selecting and installing a suitable chimney liner.
What Is A Chimney Liner?
Before commencing the chimney reconstruction, it’s important to know what a liner is and why it’s useful. The majority of chimneys are rectangular or square in shape. As a result, soot develops on the walls and gradually builds up, resulting in a loss of efficiency and traction. The issue is with the shape of the section and the rough surface of the materials used to construct the chimneys – most commonly brick. Soot practically does not stick to the smooth walls of round and oval chimneys. The chimney liner was created to avoid having to repair the chimney. A pipe is inserted into the chimney as part of the procedure. Stainless steel is the best option, but ceramics and plastics are also popular.
Advantages Of Chimney Liner
Fire Damage Protection And Control
One of the most important tasks of a chimney liner is to prevent heat from the inside of the chimney from reaching the flammable material on the outside. Heat can easily escape from older chimneys with gaps in their masonry and spark a conflagration in regions such as the second story or the roof. In reality, this is how the vast majority of house fires begin. A liner keeps the heat where it belongs: within the chimney.
Energy Efficiency
Liners create a layer of insulation inside a chimney, reducing the number of downdrafts that can occur when there is no fire in the hearth. As a result, less cold air enters your home, causing you to use your heater more frequently. It also means that the fuel within the fireplace burns more efficiently.
Increase Home Value
It’s also a good idea to have your chimney up to code. The flue gases are separated from the chimney structure by a liner. This aids in the protection of the chimney and its walls against water and heat damage. In fact, most construction standards demand that a chimney be repaired up to code before a home can be sold. A lined flue will increase the value of a home when it is sold.
Prevents Creosote
Creosote is the number one adversary of chimneys all over the world. This gleaming black substance is unburned wood energy that accumulates as a result of poor venting or incomplete combustion. It’s extremely flammable, and it’s one of the most common causes of chimney fires. By assisting with adequate venting, a liner reduces creosote build-up. The liner also prevents water moisture from becoming trapped in the chimney, which poses a serious risk of cracking if it freezes during the winter.