Chimney Liners in Forest Glen, MD

What is a Chimney Liner?

Chimney liners are designed to protect the inside of your chimney as it vents smoke, gases, and other byproducts of fire out of your home. A good liner can increase the lifespan of your chimney by protecting the brick and mortar from the corrosive fumes and buildup which would otherwise erode the masonry.

It can also help make your chimney more efficient depending on the size and shape of the liner. A properly sized liner will vent smoke and prevent the buildup of creosote and carbon monoxide better than an improperly sized one.

Chimney liners can also protect you from house fires by helping to insulate the heat of the chimney from the interior of your home. As heat is transferred up the chimney, it may cause combustible items near your chimney to catch fire if it has not been properly insulated with a liner or your old liner has degraded. Flammable gases could squeeze through gaps in corroded masonry and ignite into flame.

Types of Chimney Liners

Chimney liners are commonly made out of three materials: clay tiles, cast-in-place-liners, and metal liners. 

If you’re in Forest Glen and you need a new chimney liner, there are several options you can choose from but non are more cost-effective or efficient as metal liners.

Stainless steel liners are the most recommended type of liner by fire protection experts. Priddy Chimney Solutions uses durable stainless steel UL-listed liners in our relining jobs to avoid the cracks and shifts common in clay tiles, to improve energy efficiency, and to protect your home from toxic gases leaking indoors.

We can help determine what type of chimney lining is best for your chimney.

Reasons Why You Need a Chimney Liner or Might Need One Repaired

A good chimney liner will help protect you from a house fire, but it will not last forever. Depending on the type of liner you have, it may last anywhere from a few years to half a century.

However, a liner will eventually be broken down and need to be replaced so that your chimney will still work safely.

As a chimney liner breaks down it may cause the interior of you chimney to be exposed to the byproducts of the fuel you use for your fire. This, in turn, will cause the masonry in your chimney to deteriorate leading to the venting of toxic or combustible gases into your home.

Without a protective chimney liner, you can leave yourself open to greater chances of carbon monoxide poisoning or a house fire.

A breakdown in your chimney liner could also cause a buildup of creosote rather than corroding through the masonry if your have a wood-burning fireplace or stove.

Creosote is a highly flammable byproduct of wood fires which can build up along the interior of your chimney. Too much of this material in your chimney can obstruct it’s flow which can lead to toxic gases being vented into your home rather than out of it.

The creosote covering the inside of the chimney could also combust, leading to a chimney fire that can spread to your roof or the interior of your home.

Having your chimney routinely inspected and cleaned can prevent the buildup of creosote and will prolong the life of your liner.

An inspection may also show that your liner has been damaged and is in need of replacement. Changing a damaged liner can help protect your home from fires and help keep you and everyone in your home safe.

Signs of a Damaged Liner

You may have a damaged chimney liner if you notice chimney draft problems such as smoke not rising away from the fire and out the chimney.

This could indicate that your chimney is blocked by residue being caked onto the inner surface of the chimney.

With regular cleaning by a chimney sweep, the residue can be brushed off. However, if the residue is allowed to develop unchecked, it may be too difficult or impossible to remove it from the liner.

You may also notice a smell coming from your fireplace which could be the result of creosote buildup or from sulfur in the smoke reacting to moisture in the chimney. This reaction is corrosive and can eat small holes in the surface of metal liners.

Broken clay pieces in your firebox are another indicator of damage which happens when a clay tile liner starts to break down and become ineffective.

Through repeated exposure to corrosive smoke, a clay tile liner will begin to crack and crumble.

When this occurs, the masonry of your chimney is directly exposed to the damages smoke can cause and combustible materials within your home are no longer insulated from the heat of the chimney.

Why Choose Priddy Chimney Solutions for Your Forest Glen Chimney Needs

Priddy services include routine maintenance as well as emergency repairs. If you’re looking for someone to consult with you on  solving complex draft, leak, or masonry issues, call us for a for a honest, non-technical discussion around a solution. 

Regardless of whether you use your fireplace routinely or only on special occasions, Priddy Chimney Solutions will make sure that your family can safely enjoy its warmth.

A family-owned, and female-led company, we’ve been serving the needs of residential and commercial customers in Maryland, D.C. and Virginia metropolitan area since 1982 and pride ourselves on delivering exceptional service, every time.