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A chimney liner is your best way to avoid a potentially dangerous and even deadly chimney fire. This isn't simply our opinion. The National Bureau of Standards previously determined in the 1940s that chimney liners are essential to keeping a building up to code and ensuring fire safety. Unlined chimneys, and chimneys with a poor quality liner are considered unsafe and a major fire hazard.

A properly insulated chimney liner helps to prevent creosote buildup on the inside walls of the flue. By insulating the inside of the flue from the outside structure of the chimney, the chimney liner keeps the flue hotter. This is important because it minimizes condensation of creosote and moisture inside the flu. This condensation is the cause of dangerous creosote buildup that so often leads to a chimney fire.

A chimney liner is required for optimal performance and safety! Your goal is to make sure your chimney liner passes inspections each year. You can keep up with maintenance by scheduling a fireplace cleaning at least once a year. This won't completely solve the problem, though. Regardless of what you try to do to keep your chimney in excellent condition, the liner is bound to wear down eventually.

A chimney liner may not last forever. How old is yours? If it is too old, it may be time for a chimney liner replacement. The average lifespan of a chimney liner is 25 to 30 years. After two decades, you may need to replace the entire liner to make sure it’s still up to code and not a serious fire risk.

It is important to note that even this "25-30 years'' is a general guideline and not a hard rule. You see, there are factors that can either shorten the lifespan of your chimney liner or improve it. For one, it depends on the type of chimney liner. A well-made Fireside Chimney Supply Fireflex, stainless steel flue liner will certainly have a much longer lifespan, lifetime in most cases, when compared to clay tile liners and cast-in-place liners. In fact, some of the cheapest chimney liners may need substantial repairs or a complete replacement in as little as five years! If you want to go the full time without needing a replacement, you'll want to buy a high-quality product. 

There is also the factor of how well the chimney has been t

If your chimney doesn't have a chimney liner, you're taking a big risk. You, your family, and your pet's health and happiness is a stake. This is because a new chimney liner is your best way to avoid a potentially dangerous and even deadly chimney fire. A chimney liner is defined as "a clay, ceramic, or metal conduit installed inside of a chimney, intended to contain the combustion products, direct them to the outside atmosphere, and protect the chimney walls from heat and corrosion." What does this mean exactly?

When fuel like wood or charcoal burns, it breaks down and deposits itself as a powdery dust called soot. This chimney soot is fine black or dark brown powder made up of incompletely burned wood or coal. There is also creosote to be concerned with. Creosote is a byproduct of wood combustion that consists mainly of tar. Soot and creosote buildup is highly flammable, and should be avoided. 

A properly insulated chimney liner helps to prevent creosote buildup on the inside walls of the flue. By insulating the inside of the flue from the outside structure of the chimney, the chimney liner keeps the flue hotter. This is important because it minimizes condensation of creosote and moisture inside the flu. This condensation is the cause of dangerous creosote buildup that so often leads to a chimney fire.

We all want our home to be safe, for ourselves, our family, and our pets. You lock your doors, have an alarm system, and never answer the door if you don't know who's knocking. These are all great steps, and certainly an important part of keeping your home safe. However, these basic ideas are only the beginning. What about threats coming from inside the house? You may not realize it, but your fireplace and chimney are a potential source of danger if you're not careful.

When fuel like wood or charcoal burns, it breaks down and deposits itself as a powdery dust called soot. Chimney soot is fine black or dark brown powder formed due to incomplete combustion of wood or coal in a confined place, in this case your fireplace and chimney. There is also creosote. Creosote is a byproduct of wood combustion that consists mainly of tar. This soot and creosote buildup is highly flammable. A properly insulated chimney liner helps to prevent creosote buildup on the inside walls of the flue. By insulating the inside of the flue from the outside structure of the chimney, the chimney liner keeps the flue hotter. This is important because it minimizes condensation of creosote and moisture inside the flu. This condensation is the cause of dangerous creosote buildup that so often leads to a chimney fire.

It isn't enough to simply buy a chimney liner kit. You'll need to clean your chimney liner eventually too. Invest in

Even if you don't know much about your fireplace and chimney, you do know it gets pretty dirty in there. Well, actually- it isn't dirt per se. The correct term would be to call it soot. When fuel like wood or charcoal burns, it breaks down and deposits itself as a powdery dust called soot. Chimney soot is fine black or dark brown powder formed due to incomplete combustion of wood or coal in a confined place, in this case your fireplace and chimney. This soot is a byproduct of fireplace combustion. 

It may not be dirt, but it is pretty nasty. Should you clean it? Yes! Keeping your chimney liner clean is an important factor in maintaining both a safe and efficient chimney system in your home. If you have a wood or coal burning fireplace, you should clean your system at least once per year. The question is, how?

All it takes is a few steps to minimize buildup of creosote, moisture, and other contaminants in your chimney liner. Doing this will reduce the frequency of needing to clean it. 

Tip #1 Make sure you're using the right fuel. It's better to be proactive rather than reactive. Selecting the proper fuel source will help to keep your chimney liner clean. If it is available, hardwood is the best choice for firewood. Soft wood, like pine, produces more creosote than hardwoods, such as oak or hickory. They also burn faster while producing less heat per cord. As well, be sure your firewood

You made the decision to shop around and buy a new chimney liner kit online. First of all, congratulations for making a great first move! You're on your way to a safer and more efficient chimney system. Now, what? When it arrives, you actually need to install it! There are some things you can do to prepare for installing your new chimney liner which will make the process easier and less expensive than it would otherwise be. This isn't about actually installing the liner, but what to do beforehand. Here's everything you need to know:

Step #1 Take careful measurements to be sure you are getting the right size liner for your chimney. The liner should reach from the top of your chimney to the damper throat or other connection at the bottom of your flue. As well, you will want to measure the inside diameter of your existing flue to be sure the required diameter of liner will fit inside it. Allow for room for thick insulation. This isn't something to guess or be "pretty sure" about. Measure it exactly. If you want to be extra careful, measure it again!

Step #2 You will need to clean your chimney, fireplace, or woodstove thoroughly before the new installation begins. If you have the proper tools, no fear of heights, and are willing to get pretty dirty, you may be able to clean your chimney system yourself. But, it might be better to have a professional chimney sweep do the cleaning for you. Either way, just make sure it gets clean.

Step #3 This brings us to our next point. Call in help when you need it! Be realistic about which parts of the job you

As a homeowner, you just assume your chimney will always work. After all, it's just a hole going up the roof right? Actually, it's a very complicated and complex system that took hundreds upon hundreds of years to perfect. There are some problems that could occur with your chimney system, so it's worth being knowledgeable about the elements. When you more easily recognize a problem, you can fix it quicker and more efficiently!

Here are a few common chimney liner problems that may require you to buy a new one and replace it, or have a professional come out and fix it:

#1 Older chimneys may have no liner originally installed. Chimneys in homes built before the 1940s are likely to have been constructed with no liner inside the flue other than the bricks and mortar that make up the chimney itself. The effects of age and weathering will eventually make the chimney leak, no matter how well-constructed it was. An unlined chimney will eventually need to have a chimney liner installed inside it to improve your home's safety as well as enhance the performance of the fireplace or appliance connected to the chimney.

#2 The liner wasn't installed correctly. It's also possible you have a chimney liner and it simply wasn't put in the right way. An improperly installed chimney liner will deteriorate faster than one that is installed correctly. Badly sealed joints will leak. Improperly insulated liners will have more creosote accumulation than properly insulated liners, requiring more frequent cleaning and subjecting the liner materials to greater wear and more corrosive conditions.

#3 Your chimney is battling fierce elements. Some areas simply have more severe weather than others. External

Chimney caps are inexpensive and easy to install. Yet, they are so important! They reduce long-term costs and improve the safety of your entire chimney system. For this reason, they are a crucial element in your chimney system that is certainly not something you should neglect. In fact, the most difficult aspect of deciding whether or not to buy a new chimney cap is just deciding which one to purchase! 

When you shop online, you will quickly see that you can choose from a wide variety of chimney caps made from several different materials. Which is the right one? Are you supposed to simply choose the one you like the best? Not quite. The chimney cap you choose will be determined by your unique chimney configuration as well as the amount of money you want to spend to make your chimney safer. There is a little wiggle room for aesthetics as some chimney caps will make your external chimney features more attractive than others.

As you're ready to start shopping, here are a few key features to keep in mind. This should help you choose the right new chimney cap:

#1 Choose your material. As you shop online, you will come across chimney caps that are manufactured from painted steel, aluminum, stainless steel, and copper. Stainless steel chimney caps are typically considered the best. Steel and aluminum chimney caps are inexpensive, but they are also more likely to rust and corrode. Remember, these caps are subjected to weather extremes and the harsh compounds that

The average homeowner doesn't think about their chimney very often. Purchasing a chimney liner isn't something you do every day, or even every year. For this reason, you're not up-to-date on all the latest industry information, technology, materials, and standards. That's nothing to worry about! We are industry experts, so we can tell you everything you need to know. One thing we're asked about regularly is chimney liner industry standards. Let's do a quick breakdown of this right now.

First, let's quickly discuss your chimney liner. Your chimney is way more than a hole going up through the roof. By safely transferring potentially deadly gases out of your house, your chimney liner is one of the most important safety features inside your house! A chimney liner is a crucial part of your overall home fuel burning system. If you have a fireplace, woodstove, water heater, or gas, coal or oil-fired furnace, it is attached to a venting system designed to safely remove combustion gases. Your fireplace or woodstove insert will vent its gases up the chimney, as do possibly a few others.

You don't want your living room or kitchen filling with smoke! A properly lined chimney improves the performance of your fuel burning system in several ways, this being the main one. It will also improve the draft of your system so that you burn fuel more efficiently. When the nasty stuff is venting out, you will have less buildup of creosote and ash inside your chimney. If this buildup catches on fire, your entire home is in danger of going up in flames. Your chimney liner also extends the life of your chimney itself. It does this by keeping water and other corrosive compounds from damaging bricks and degrading mortar. Think of it like a self-cleaning method!

Now, let's move on to discuss the industry standards. In order to accomplish all of these things,

We all want our cars to perform well and get us safely where we need to go. Guess what- we also need performance and safety from our chimney system! While you may not think about it very often, this is incredibly important for those living in a home with a fireplace. 

How could a chimney have performance? Isn't it just a tube of bricks with a hole through the middle that carries smoke out of your house? No way! It is far more complicated than this. The brick exterior of your chimney that you can see from the outside of your home is only a small part. It is actually a complete system with several parts and pieces, all working together to keep your family safe and your house warm. 

If you don’t give their chimneys much thought, you're not alone. Let's make today the day that changes! There are things you can do to improve the performance of your chimney system. The even better news is that you don't need to spend a fortune to do it.

Safety

If your chimney does not efficiently remove combustion products from your fireplace, you can have a problem. Potential issues range from just a smoky smell, to aggravating asthma symptoms, to even a lethal accumulation of carbon monoxide. If your chimney has leaks, carbon monoxide and smoke can drift back into your house. Extreme heat and flames can potentially reach the flammable areas surrounding the chimney and cause a house fire. 

There are a couple things you can do for this. You should have a chimney liner installed if you don't already have one. Be sure to have your chimney liner cleaned and inspected on a regular basis by a professional, probably a

Not all fires burn the same! Did you know that different wood produces different fires and different smoke as well? So, is there a right choice and a wrong choice? Yes and no. Essentially, what you're looking for is driest, best seasoned wood you can get. 

Dry wood will burn more completely than "green" wood. This will result in a hotter fire with less smoke. That's great because you don't want a bunch of smoke in your house. Beyond your lungs, it's also better for the fireplace and chimney itself. An extra-smoky fire that comes from using unseasoned wood will make more creosote build up in your chimney liner. This nasty build up is what makes it necessary to clean your flue. This creosote is highly combustible, and it also constricts the flow of gases up your chimney liner, resulting in decreased draft and dirtier subsequent fires. The more creosote, the more often you have to clean- it's as simple as that.

What about the wood species, though? Does that affect the fire and smoke? Yes! Hardwoods such as maple, oak, ash, birch, and most fruit trees are the best burning woods. Any of these wood species will give you a hotter and longer burn time. These woods have the least pitch and sap and are generally cleaner to handle. All of that is great news for an indoor fire.

Don't stop reading there! You don't want all hardwood, though. Experts tell us that it is a good idea to have a mixture of hardwood and softwood on hand for different stages of fire burning. Fir is the best choice, but other softwoods include spruce, cedar, pine, balsam, alder, tamarack, and poplar. The best thing to do is have some softwood and cut it into small pieces. This makes excellent tinder and kindling to get a small, hot fire going. Once this is accomplished, you can add larger pieces of softwood mixed with pieces of hardwood will give you a good, steady