Chimney Liner Installation in Westlake Village, CA

Why clay flues here fail, and what relining actually involves

Soot is rarely the culprit locally. Older unreinforced masonry stacks move during seismic events, and the clay tiles shear or slump before the brick shows anything. Rain does the rest. A cracked or missing crown lets water sit on the top tile. Mortar joints between tiles wash out from the inside down. By the time smoke smells in an upstairs bedroom, the liner is already open at several joints.

We scan the flue with a camera first and count tiles. Inside dimension sets liner diameter, not the outside of the chimney. On narrow older stacks, tile sometimes has to be broken out to fit a correctly sized stainless liner. Offsets above the smoke chamber decide flex versus rigid smooth-wall. Insulation is a clearance question, not an upsell.

Prefab fireboxes are a different animal. A Superior, Marco, Heatilator or Majestic metal chimney in a stucco chase is a listed system. Dropping a stainless liner down it voids that listing. The right fix is manufacturer parts, or replacing the unit.

Gas changes sizing too. An oversized masonry flue serving gas logs runs cool and condenses, which quietly eats mortar.

If the masonry itself is shear-cracked through, a liner hides a structural problem. We say so.