Chimney Liners for Wood Fireplaces
What is a stainless steel chimney liner? A chimney liner is the conduit, which is normally located within the chimney of a home heated by wood, gas, or oil, through which smoke, heat, and fuel by-products are expelled. You’ll be surprised, but up until the mid-1900s, a great number of homes still featured chimneys without a liner of any kind.
Nowadays almost all chimneys are lined. For new construction or a home renovation, a chimney liner is almost universally required by government building codes. It’s very important to underline that although laws vary both by state and country, the mandate that a liner be installed exists in virtually all locales. There are 3 major types of liners. These are clay, metal, and a version that is cast in place.
Types of Fireplace chimney liners
Ceramic tiles are the most common form of chimney liner. May be it’s because of their low cost. Clay is a perfect choice, if your wood fireplace is primarily decorative and not the main heating source of a home. However, you should keep in mind that they are not a good option if one utilizes wood, gas, or wood stoves that produce very high temperatures. In addition, clay tiles do not easily absorb heat or transfer it along the length of the chimney. And if a chimney fire should occur, clay tiles have a tendency to break, crack, or shatter.
A metal chimney liner is much more expensive than clay. But certainly this kind of liners is a better and safer option. Metal chimney liners are manufactured from either stainless steel or aluminum. They are almost always installed when a chimney with a clay lining needs to be repaired or replaced. Liners of this kind are strong, durable. They also have excellent heat absorption and transfer properties.
As for an installation of stainless steel and aluminum liners, this is a quite simple process. This is especially true with aluminum liners, because they are highly flexible. These chimney liners are usually surrounded by insulation that can withstand extremely high temperatures, making them doubly safe should a chimney fire erupt. The fire will be largely contained within the liner, and can be doused or smothered long before enough heat transfers to interior walls to create combustion.
The cast-in-place liner is essentially a chimney within a chimney. It is tough and sturdy, created and poured utilizing a substance very similar in composition to concrete. A cast-in-place liner is safe for all types of fuel-burning stoves, and may well be the most efficient liner available. As a side benefit, since it is built within the chimney, it serves a secondary purpose by adding a high degree of structural integrity.