Here is a guide on the cost of repairing a chimney flue and the available repair options.
A chimney has various components each of which is crucial to the smooth functioning of the system. As expected, components work interdependently to expel smoke and gases while taking in a sufficient amount of air to support combustion.
One of these critical parts is the chimney flue.
As it is with other chimney parts, the flue works to enhance the overall functionality of the system. The specific function of this duct is simply to convey or channel out exhaust gases and smoke from the fireplace.
The Chimney Flue
If you’re a bit rusty in your ability to recall the different chimney parts, this section should clear any doubts. The chimney flue is simply the lining within a masonry chimney. This is in form of a conduit made from different materials.
Some of the most common materials used in chimney flue construction include metal, clay, or ceramic. So, what role does this key component perform? The chimney flue serves to contain products of combustion and direct them outside.
At the same time, your chimney flue will shield, insulate or protect your chimney walls from corrosive action as well as heat. These roles are what make the chimney flue very important.
You’ll need to have the flue checked alongside other components to ensure it’s in great condition.
Chimney Flue Breakdown And The Need For Repair
A chimney flue is bound to have an issue or two during its lifespan. This is a normal situation that requires appropriate action in the form of repair or replacement. Our bias here is largely towards chimney repair.
So, what are the repair options available and the cost involved?
Before we get into details, it’s necessary to set forth a guideline on how our discussion will unfold. First, we’ll be looking at chimney flue repair options before concluding with repair costs.
This approach should be comprehensive enough for the reader.
Expert Chimney Flue Repair Options
There are basically two approaches or repair options available for chimneys.
These include the joint repair system as well as the resurfacing system. All of these are aimed at fixing specific issues relating to the state of disrepair of chimney flues.
Let’s take a look at each of them.
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Chimney Flue Joint Repair
As the name suggests, chimney flue joint repair largely focuses on damaged mortar joints.
Most times, a chimney might look good from the outside, but without frequent inspection of its inner surface, it might be only a matter of time before problems occur.
Problems in this sense refer to fall off or missing mortar joints which could worsen. So, what causes such conditions? The causes are twofold; chimney fires or shifting & settling of the building structure into its foundation.
Any of these situations are likely to result in chimney mortar falling off. When this happens, the protection or liner insulation earlier provided becomes absent or non-existent.
As a result, the exposed area is no longer insulated and is exposed to heat as well as corrosion.
When further left unattended, the condition deteriorates fast!
This is why chimney flue joint repair becomes necessary. Chimney flue joint repair only seeks to attend to the affected area. That is, the areas having defective mortar joints.
In this sense, it’s assumed that the problem isn’t widespread but limited to a certain area of the chimney flue. Of course, an inspection will need to be conducted to be certain or confirm such an assumption. Repairs are immediately applied after that.
Repair is mostly done by applying fresh mortar or other forms of special mixtures. This fills up space or void. This is confirmed by a video scan of the repairs done.
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Chimney Flue Resurfacing
True to its name, chimney flue resurfacing is another form of repair that aims to fix the chimney liner. To qualify for this type of repair, a chimney liner surface should be mostly sound but have minor issues across its surface area.
Having inspected and determined such minor problems, a chimney service will apply a coating over the whole flue surface to return the flue to the top functional state. Generally, video scans are used for both types of repairs.
Due to accessibility issues, such video scans best reveal the interior condition of a chimney flue liner. Such video scans are done before and after the repair process to show the client the level of work done.
Chimney Flue Repair Cost
The cost of the project is another key concern for most homeowners.
As a homeowner, you have no idea of what the repair costs are going to be like. This is because the state of your chimney flue needs to be determined first.
Chimney flue repair costs are largely determined by the degree to which repairs are performed. When it comes to repairing costs, we’ll have to consider it from three angles.
First, there’s cracked chimney flue repair, chimney lining repair as well as chimney flue relining costs.
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Cracked Chimney Flue Repair Costs
Cracked chimney flue repair isn’t as extensive as say, chimney relining or replacement. Here, a limited coverage area is fixed at a cost ranging from $80 to $120 per square foot. This type of repair seeks to fill up the joints or cracks left open by displaced mortar.
So, how long does such repair last? The truth is, while cracked chimney flue repair may provide solutions, such solutions aren’t long-term but temporary.
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Chimney Lining Repair Costs
Chimney lining repair, also called chimney flue resurfacing costs around $2,000 to $3,500 on average.
As discussed earlier, it involves resurfacing the entire chimney flue surface. So, chimney lining should be a more permanent solution, right? Wrong!
Like cracked chimney flue repair, chimney flue resurfacing is only temporary. You shouldn’t expect any long-term results with this. So, which repair option is more permanent?
Chimney flue replacement of course!
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Chimney Flue Replacement Costs
The cost for chimney flue replacement is more significant than the two discussed above.
It should cost you anywhere from $900 to $7,000. Exact repair costs will be determined by the chimney service being used, the flue material as well as size among other factors.
The above discussion on chimney flue repair options and costs has shown the various aspects of key areas being discussed. With the information provided above, you get to decide what best fits your needs.
