A furnace or boiler flue is relatively inexpensive to reline, but it's extremely expensive to reline a fireplace flue because the existing terracotta flue tiles must be removed in order to fit an adequately sized liner down the chimney. Other factors like the need to insulate the new liner for wood burning use also increase the cost. While most cracked flue tiles can only be repaired by relining the chimney, Chadds Ford Chimney Sweeps can repair many defective fireplace flues for a fraction of the cost of relining the flue.

Masonry chimney flues typically exhibit three distinct types of damage that make the chimney unsafe to use:

• Cracked or broken flue tiles: A cracked tile can be caused by a variety of factors from the thermal stress of a chimney fire or a lightning strike to a defect when the tile was fired. The only ways to repair this damage is to replace the tile (possible if the damaged tile is near the top of the chimney) or reline the flue.

• Spalled or delaminated flue tiles: Usually caused by the corrosive effects of oil soot. This problem is best remedied by relining the flue.

• Open mortar joints between flue tiles: This is the most common type of flue damage we encounter. It results when the chimney's builder uses ordinary mortar, instead of heat resistant refractory mortar, to bond the flue tiles. Fortunately, we are able to economically correct this problem with FireGuard.

The FireGuard system is specifically designed to fill open mortar joints, avoiding the need to reline the flue. This system uses a vibrating applicator that is winched through the flue to force a special refractory material into the open joints. The FireGuard material has a service temperature that far exceeds the requirements for residential chimney. It creates solid, smooth, water and acid resistant joints. And it is guaranteed not to loosen or dislodge from the joints for a full 20-years.

While relining the flue with corrugated stainless steel remains our preferred method of repairing a furnace or boiler flue, the FireGuard system can't be beat for the cost savings it delivers when open mortar joints in a fireplace flue require fixing.

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