[carissajames]

We have a lovely house built in the 1940's and have one fireplace that isn't usable. The chimney sweep guy said that he could see sunlight though some of the cracks. (This is a mystery to me though as our vinyl siding contractor put vinyl siding around the chimney -- it was really ugly and had been painted many times!)

Anyway, I want to know if I can insert a flu liner up the chimney so that we can use it??

Could we purchase a fireplace insert -- which I think has a "stove pipe" that goes up the chimney. ???

Without hiring the chimney guys, what coudl we do to use this fireplace??

 

[PaliBob]

If you had a leaky gas pipe then inquired on this forum for an Easy Repair then you got a reply about how to fix it with Duct tape, would you feel comfortable sleeping at night thinking you fixed the problem?

http://www.csia.org/?gclid=CIm7t8ajwZoCFRxNagodaGporw

Have it inspected. Your Sweep was not lying.
.

 

[Daniel Holzman]

It may be possible to insert a liner, although I seriously doubt this is something you want to do yourself. Sounds like you have a few problems to deal with, including vinyl siding around a chimney. That sounds like a fire hazard.

Fireplace inserts (I have one) require a specific size liner, typically a stainless steel round insert you install in one of the flues, then connect it to the back (or possibly side) of the insert. The actual installation is a bit complicated, because in a fireplace you typically have to remove the damper, then caulk the joint between the flue liner and the location where the damper used to be. Obviously, you need fire rated compound.

Speaking personally, I do a lot of work myself, but this particular job was beyond my personal level of comfort, so I paid the fireplace insert supplier about $600 to have the insert installed, and the proper flue installed. Worth every penny, no way I could have done that job myself.

 

[hayewe farm]

If it were me, I would ignore the chimney sweep and build a large roaring wood fire in the fireplace then after you settle with the insurance company you can rebuild a house with a safe chimney. But then again the insurance company may not pay off if they find out about the sweeps report just like they might not pay off if a flue liner is improperly installed.

I just don't understand why people want to save a couple of hundred dollars to live in constant peril.

 

[Chemist1961]

You may also want to consider potential fire pronblems with the vinyl cladding on the outside of that chimney if you intend to reuse the chimney. It may not have been installed with that intent.
My local firecode requires a space between the cladding and chimney as well as a fireproof barrier between the brick and any type of siding...
I was considerring metal

 

[carissajames]

Oh my word! I sure didn't expect to be berated on the forum! I was only asking because we saw several "Easy Do It Yourself Chimney Liner Kits" on line and my husband and I were a little wary of doing a job that large ourselves. I was questioning the validity of the "Easy" part. Maybe I thought all the question marks made it clear that I had questions about whether it would be so easy. I have no intention of putting my children in harms way or stepping foolishly into fires.

We have heated our house entirely with wood for 10 years in a "new" fireplace in the rear of our house but have never used this particular fireplace in the front of our house as it is original to the house and we know it wasn't used by the previous owners. We were just exploring options to get it operable.

I know you are only trying to keep the public safe, but do you have to do it with such sarcasm? Wow! I will think twice before asking anything else!

 

[hayewe farm]

Sorry for being so sarcastic my only excuse is the number homes that have been lost in my area because of wood burning fire places and improperly installed inserts and flue linners.

 

[PaliBob]

• Carissa, You started to lay out the problem in your first post but when you began with:

  The chimney sweep guy said that he could see sunlight though some of the cracks. (This is a mystery to me though as our vinyl siding contractor put vinyl siding around the chimney)

  You rang the alarm bells on this forum

• First that your chimney is in BAD shape. So BAD it is unusable

• Second that you are suspicious that your Sweep is not telling you the truth about seeing light.

• Third that you have a dangerous fire hazard with vinyl directly against the bricks with decaying grout

You inserted the proviso in the summation:

Without hiring the chimney guys, what could we do to use this fireplace??

.

If you had started your question with the information

….I was only asking because we saw several "Easy Do It Yourself Chimney Liner Kits" on line…..

The response would have been in response to that claim. Instead the response was directed more to point out the hazards and to rebut the proposition to do Without hiring the chimney guys

The consensus of the forum advice is don’t do this yourself. I’m sorry that you believed the “Easy Do it Yourself” claims. You didn’t say what advice the Sweep gave you. I was concerned with the thought of you inadvertently doing harm. I am glad to hear that you will stay out of harms way.