Homeowners with fireplaces and wood stoves know how much a liner can save a chimney from damage and how much it can ultimately save them in dollars. But did you also know that chimneys that vent hot water heaters, boilers, or gas appliances also need lining? It isn’t just creosote and chemicals from burning wood that can harm your chimney.
Why your chimney needs a liner when you don’t have a fireplace
Unless your appliance was installed to vent through the wall, it needs a chimney. This goes for hot water heaters, oil, gas, and propane boilers and even gas appliances The Chimney Safety Association explains that the air your appliance needs to operate may contain acids (such as the type that create acid rain) which mix with particles from cleaning fluids in your home and these air borne particles vent through the flue causing a buildup that can be corrosive. Without a liner, these corrosive gases work on the masonry of the chimney. Liners help to protect the masonry and provide additional safety by protecting the house from the heat as it is moving through the chimney. An additional benefit of a liner is that it can increase the efficiency of your appliance. The more energy efficient the appliance, the more important the size compatibility of the appliance with the chimney. Regardless of the age of the chimney, that compatibility is not always in sync. A trained technician, like ours at Old Dominion Chimneys, will be able to make that assessment and offer a correction.
What type of liner?
You may say that your chimney is lined with tile. Isn’t that long-lasting and durable enough? Old Dominion Chimneys can give you some other options that offer better value. While tile sounds like a good idea given the heat flow, it cracks and breaks, thereby reducing its efficiency. Our trained and certified technicians install stainless steel liners which have excellent durability and longevity and are also approved for all fuel types.
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