Is Your Chimney Liner or Smoke Chamber Failing Out of Sight?

The problem family: the inside of the chimney is failing

Older Puget Sound homes are the usual case. Census data puts Tacoma's median year built at 1967, Shoreline's at 1969 and Seattle's at 1976, and brick chimneys from that era were built with clay tile liners or, in the oldest houses, no liner at all. Clay tiles crack from decades of heating and cooling and from chimney fires you may never have noticed. Mortar between tiles washes out. Smoke chambers were often left as stepped, corbeled brick with open joints that catch creosote. None of this is visible from the firebox, which is why the symptoms get blamed on "a smoky fireplace."

How to tell which sub-problem you have

Cracked or shifted flue tiles

Clues: pieces of tile in the firebox, a fireplace that used to draw well and now smokes, or a past chimney fire. Cracks let hot gas and creosote reach the brick and, beyond it, the wood framing. NFPA 211 recommends a Level 2 camera inspection after any chimney fire for exactly this reason.

No liner at all

Common in pre-war Seattle and Tacoma houses. An unlined flue is bare brick and mortar carrying exhaust; the joints erode and the chimney runs hotter on the outside than it should. If a gas appliance vents into it, condensation eats the mortar from the inside.

Wrong-size flue for the appliance

Clues: a stove or insert that was slid into an old masonry fireplace without its own liner, sour condensation smells, heavy creosote. The big old flue cools the exhaust, which drops creosote and moisture instead of carrying them out.

Rough or damaged smoke chamber

Clues: smoke spills at the top of the firebox opening, heavy creosote right above the damper, a camera view showing stepped brick with open joints. A smoke chamber that is not smooth slows the draft and hoards the most flammable deposits in the system.

What to do first

Stop guessing and look. A chimney inspection with a camera is the only way to see the liner and smoke chamber, and it is the first thing we do before quoting any liner or chamber work. If the flue is packed with creosote or debris, a chimney cleaning comes first so the camera can see the walls. If you simply have not had routine service in a while, a chimney sweep with its included inspection may be all you need.

Once we have footage, you get it, along with a written free quote laying out the options for that specific flue: sealing, parging the smoke chamber, relining or, where the damage has reached the structure, the work on our chimney repair page. Problems that show up in the firebox rather than the flue belong on fireplace repair.

Why this is the one not to delay

A leaking crown costs you a ceiling stain. A failed liner puts heat next to framing you cannot see. If you have cracked tiles, a smoky fireplace you cannot explain, or an old house with no service history, do not use the fireplace until it has been scoped. Call 206-453-2045; same-day inspections are often available in Seattle, Tacoma and Everett, the quote is free, and if someone else already quoted a reline we will give you a free second opinion and price match plus 10 to 25 percent. If you are not happy, we are not done.