Chimney liners · Carlisle, PA
Stainless steel and aluminum chimney liners, matched to the appliance and the flue
Stainless liners for wood, gas or oil, and aluminum liners for some medium efficiency gas appliances, sized and installed per CSIA guidance.
A damaged liner, and why it matters
The liner is the barrier between the fire and everything around the chimney. When it cracks, shifts or wears through, heat and combustion gases can reach masonry and framing that were never built to handle them. A damaged liner is one of the common problems we find when we sweep a chimney, and it often shows up alongside creosote buildup or leaks at the crown.
Homeowners in Carlisle and the surrounding counties usually learn about it one of three ways: an inspection finds it, a new appliance or a change of fuel calls for a different flue, or smoke and odor start coming back into the room.
Stainless steel cap over a relined flue on a white coated chimney crown above a residential street
Stainless steel or aluminum?
The Chimney Safety Institute of America puts the choice plainly: stainless steel is suitable for wood burning, gas or oil applications, while aluminum liners are an inexpensive alternative for some medium efficiency gas applications only. That one sentence settles most of the decision, and the appliance on the other end of the flue settles the rest.
Before we reline a flue we start with a Level II inspection, which is the level NFPA 211 calls for ahead of a relining. It tells us what condition the existing flue is in and what size and type of liner the appliance needs. Then we put the liner in, and with nearly three decades of experience in liners, we know which installations are straightforward and which need a closer look.
If you are not sure which side of that line your furnace, stove or fireplace falls on, ask before you commit to a liner. A liner that does not suit the fuel is a worse problem than the one it replaced.
Keeping a new liner in good shape
A liner does not retire the annual sweep. It still collects soot and creosote, and the inspection that comes with a sweep is how a small problem gets caught early. Schedule the sweep before the heating season, the same as any other chimney.
Call again any time you swap an appliance or change fuels, because a new burner can change what the flue needs. Reach the Carlisle office at 717-601-2595 and tell us what is connected to the chimney.
Nearly three decades of experience with liners. Fully licensed, bonded and insured, and BBB Accredited since 2015.