Chimney Liner Repair in Glendale

The lining keeps heat, smoke and carbon monoxide inside the flue. A crack or open joint lets heat reach wood framing packed against the outside of the chimney, and it lets gases seep into the attic or wall cavity.

Gaps also catch creosote, which then sits in a place a brush cannot reach. Stop using the fireplace until a damaged lining has been assessed, and if a CO alarm sounds, get everyone out and call 911.

A single cracked tile at the top of the flue can usually be cut out and replaced from the roof. Open joints spread through the flue can sometimes be restored with a resurfacing compound applied from inside, where the tiles themselves are sound.

Once several sections are cracked, or tiles are offset deep in the stack, repair stops being practical. The flue is then relined with a new metal or cast lining, which is covered on the liner installation page. Knowing which side of that line a chimney falls on is the whole point of the camera run.

Where a house in one of Glendale's older neighborhoods has a gas water heater or furnace venting into a masonry chimney, that flue sees cooler, wetter exhaust than a wood fire produces. The condensation is what erodes tile joints, and it is worth checking after any appliance is replaced with a more efficient model.

Some chimneys from before tile linings were common were built without any lining at all. If a camera finds bare brick, there is nothing to repair; the flue needs a liner.

CSIA's guidance after a chimney fire is to sweep the flue and then do an internal video inspection, because fire damage to the lining rarely shows from outside. The same logic applies after strong shaking, when the outside of the stack can look intact while tiles inside have moved.

The count and depth of damaged sections decide most of it. A top tile is a roof job; damage halfway down a two-storey flue is not.