Regardless if your chimney is venting a fireplace, furnace, or wood stove, it most likely contains sections of clay flue tiles together in order to form a chimney lining.
The flue liner has to be well-sealed to protect the soundness and efficiency of the chimney. But over time and usage, defects and problems will develop and it threatens your chimney safety. Cracked flue tiles are among the most common issues that homeowners have to deal with.
Sometimes, you would have to contact chimney inspection if you want to look for the exact reason why the chimney has cracks. If you are not knowledgeable about this, you can always check out reasons why it is dangerous. Read on to learn more.
They Can Cause House Fires
Research that was conducted by the National Bureau of Standards has discovered that using a fireplace with no liner put homeowners at a greater risk for this. If you compare it with those that have properly linked chimneys, they do not have the same level of heat protection. This comes from the home’s combustible materials such as wood. Cracks in the liner expose the woodwork and other materials to great temperatures, which puts you at a higher risk of catching fire.
Toxic Gases
A chimney liner will prevent dangerous gases from going into your house. Even a small crack can become a passageway for harmful gases to go into your living space. Carbon monoxide is specifically tasteless, odorless, and colorless, which is why it is very hard to detect it using a CO detector. It can reach fatal levels, especially when everyone else is asleep. That is why carbon monoxide poisoning is also called a silent killer, and it can lead to tissue damage and death due to prolonged exposure.
Damages the Chimney
It has already been discussed that it is the high temperatures that your chimney is exposed to each time you use the fireplace. Aside from high heat, your chimney gets exposed to the combustion of byproducts produced by gas or wood. The byproducts are able to wear down the chimney’s masonry materials in case the flue liner is missing or cracked. If the wear and tear are unchecked, it will lead to structural damage, causing the chimney to fall apart or lean.
It Will Operate Inefficiently
A flue liner with cracks can impede wood, gas fireplace, or stove efficiency. The chimney requires an efficient draft to draw oxygen in and expel toxic gases to the combustion process of byproducts up the chimney flue where it exits your home. However, flue cracks can cause drafting problems and there is unequal air pressure in the chimney that can make the fireplace perform inefficiently.
Why Does it Happen?
Most of the time, cracked tiles happen when heat is not evenly distributed throughout the chimney. This can lead to unequal expansion of tiles that causes them to split, crack, or buckle. Clay tiles are a lot more prone to this issue because the material is unable to absorb heat quickly.
What is the Remedy?
When you find cracked tiles, the best way to fix this is by lining or relining your chimney. A stainless steel chimney liner is the chosen option among homeowners because it normally has a lifetime warranty and it usually never needs to be replaced. Single clay flue tiles can be installed to replace broken ones but will usually crack again to create another safety hazard in the flue. If there is minimal damage, a product can be bought to fill those cracks.
You can contact chimney contractors Bowie if you want to have the chimney flue checked or fixed.
