Chimney Options

A properly installed block chimney with clay liner is fine for wood or coal. When you see one with creosote stains coming out of the joints, that chimney was not built correctly AND someone has been burning poorly seasoned wood. I have to agree with the folks who have said don't just use block. It will come back to haunt you later. When you burn even well seasoned wood, a clay lined chimney must be cleaned regularly. Another good reason to only burn coal. Before I would burn wood again in marginal drafting weather, I would install a draft inducer and burn coal. Wood is a pain in the rear. Maybe I just spent too many years hauling, cutting, splitting, stacking and carrying wood. My back is shot from it.

I stopped at the local brickyard today to get some split firebrick ($1.07 @ piece). I asked him what an 8" X 8" X 2' terra cotta clay chimney flue went for, $9.64. That is under $150 for a 30' chimney. Properly installed it could last 500 to a 1,000 years. I'll bet 30' of S/S will cost a lot more and last about 50 years if your lucky.

coaledsweat wrote:I stopped at the local brickyard today to get some split firebrick ($1.07 @ piece). I asked him what an 8" X 8" X 2' terra cotta clay chimney flue went for, $9.64. That is under $150 for a 30' chimney. Properly installed it could last 500 to a 1,000 years. I'll bet 30' of S/S will cost a lot more and last about 50 years if your lucky.

Is that just for the flue tile or does that include the chimney block and mortar.

gambler wrote:Is that just for the flue tile or does that include the chimney block and mortar.

That is just the flue tile, I think the block would cost about the same per foot, no more than double. With the mortar, maybe $5-600 worst case.

i would never ever burn wood in an unlined chimney.....but when my dad and I extended the chinmey in 1991, we didnt know that liner was needed, orig section of chinmey is still perfect, and no cracks.....the orig top 5 blocks we removed cause they were pained yes and in poor shape......put a layer of smooth stucco over the exposed chimney......when I inspected it last yr for my dad, I t looks just like the day we installed it in 1991.....this time I will install the liner since I know now (btw every house on the block has an unlined block chimney excuse my ignorance.....parents house was built out of scraps before ww2, but same contractor made a cookie cutter out of my parents house with new materials right around 1949......my grandparents bought a new house up the street for 4,000 in 1950.......my parents bought their present house down the street for 6,000 in 1968.....all the homes had hand fired coal furnaces when new.....my mom tells me that my grandparents kept chickens in the coal bin and her job was to go get them out lol)