How do I know if my chimney needs relining?

You generally cannot tell from the firebox - it takes a camera run. The indirect signs worth acting on are a stove that has never drafted properly, creosote building far faster than your burning explains, a campfire smell in the room on cold still days, and pieces of clay tile turning up on the smoke shelf.

Is a cracked tile actually dangerous, or is it paperwork?

It is real. The liner's only job is keeping flue gas and heat away from framing that is often a couple of inches away. A cracked tile or an open joint removes that separation. How urgent it is depends on the appliance and how hard it runs, and we will say which yours is.

Stainless or cast-in-place?

Stainless for the large majority of jobs here. It is faster, it can be replaced later, and insulated stainless handles our temperature swings well. Cast-in-place suits badly deteriorated masonry that needs structural help too, but it costs more and it is permanent.

How long does a stainless liner last?

A 316Ti liner correctly sized and insulated, burning seasoned wood, is a multi-decade component and usually carries a long manufacturer warranty. Undersized, uninsulated or fed wet wood and it corrodes far sooner. Most liner failures we see are installation and fuel problems rather than material problems.

Can you reline in winter?

Usually yes, and this is the one job on our list that is not weather-blocked. The limit is the roof rather than the temperature - we will not walk a snow-loaded metal pitch, and that waits for a clear window.

Chimney Relining & Flue Repair | Rapid City & Sturgis, SD

What Actually Cracks Tile in the Black Hills

Clay flue tile is a good material and it fails here for a reason that barely applies elsewhere: the speed of the temperature swings.

These hills hold the world record for it. On 22 January 1943 a chinook took Spearfish from minus 4 degrees at 7:30 in the morning to plus 45 at 7:32 - forty-nine degrees in two minutes. It reached 58 by afternoon, and when the wind died it fell back to minus 4 in twenty-seven minutes. Window glass frosted and cracked from the shock. The record has never been broken.

That is an extreme example of an ordinary local event. Clay tile, the mortar joints between sections, and the masonry around them all expand at different rates, and a swing that fast does not give them time to move together. The joints open first, then the tile itself splits. It is a fatigue failure rather than a heat failure, which is why it turns up on chimneys that have never had a chimney fire and never been abused.

What's Included

Flue measured at the top and at the appliance, not estimated from outside the stack
Camera run before and after, footage handed over both times
316Ti or 304 stainless liner sized to the appliance, insulated where clearances require it
Damaged tile removed where it has to come out before the liner passes
Top plate, storm collar and cap fitted; connector and tee made up properly
Written spec - liner grade, diameter, insulation - for your file or your insurer

The Second Cause: an Insert in a Flue Built for a Fireplace

Plenty of what we line is not damaged at all. A masonry fireplace built with a 12 by 12 clay flue is correct for an open fire, which needs a lot of flue to carry a lot of cool, dilute smoke. Drop a wood insert with a six-inch collar into that opening and the appliance is now venting into a cross-section four to six times larger than it needs.

The exhaust expands, slows and cools long before the top, and cool exhaust condenses. That is where glaze comes from on houses that barely burn. A correctly sized insulated liner fixes the draft and the creosote rate together, and it is also what the appliance manufacturer's listing required in the first place.

Chimney Relining & Flue Repair by town

Chimney Relining & Flue Repair in Rapid City Chimney Relining & Flue Repair in Box Elder Chimney Relining & Flue Repair in Sturgis

Straight talk

What This Costs, and When We Tell People They Do Not Need It

Relining is the most expensive thing on this website and the easiest thing in the trade to sell to somebody who does not need it. So here are the numbers and the limits.

A straight, accessible flue taking an insulated stainless liner generally lands between $1,800 and $3,200. Offsets, very tall stacks, or tile that has to come out before the liner goes in push it to $3,200 and up. A small-diameter liner for a gas appliance is less. We give a range on the phone and a firm number after the flue has been measured, never before.

Now the other direction. A sound clay flue serving the open fireplace it was sized for does not need lining. Light surface pitting in an otherwise intact tile does not need lining. A single hairline crack in one section is worth photographing and watching, not ripping out. If somebody showed you a dark line on a screen and quoted five figures the same afternoon, ask for the footage and get a second opinion - and we will look at it for nothing whether or not you use us.

Questions

Questions about chimney relining & flue repair

How do I know if my chimney needs relining?: You generally cannot tell from the firebox - it takes a camera run. The indirect signs worth acting on are a stove that has never drafted properly, creosote building far faster than your burning explains, a campfire smell in the room on cold still days, and pieces of clay tile turning up on the smoke shelf.
Is a cracked tile actually dangerous, or is it paperwork?: It is real. The liner's only job is keeping flue gas and heat away from framing that is often a couple of inches away. A cracked tile or an open joint removes that separation. How urgent it is depends on the appliance and how hard it runs, and we will say which yours is.
Stainless or cast-in-place?: Stainless for the large majority of jobs here. It is faster, it can be replaced later, and insulated stainless handles our temperature swings well. Cast-in-place suits badly deteriorated masonry that needs structural help too, but it costs more and it is permanent.
How long does a stainless liner last?: A 316Ti liner correctly sized and insulated, burning seasoned wood, is a multi-decade component and usually carries a long manufacturer warranty. Undersized, uninsulated or fed wet wood and it corrodes far sooner. Most liner failures we see are installation and fuel problems rather than material problems.
Can you reline in winter?: Usually yes, and this is the one job on our list that is not weather-blocked. The limit is the roof rather than the temperature - we will not walk a snow-loaded metal pitch, and that waits for a clear window.

Chimney Relining & Flue Repair