Masonry Repair: Can You Fix Your Cracked Clay Flue Tile?
Your chimney's flue keeps odors and gases from your fireplace out of your home during the winter. However, the clay tile used to line the inside of your flue can crack over time. If you have a cracked flue tile in your home, call a masonry repair contractor today. Learn about the dangers of a cracked flue tile and how a masonry contractor can repair it below.
How Dangerous Is a Cracked Clay Flue Tile?
The flue describes the passageway, or opening, inside the chimney that releases toxic gases or odors out of your home every time you light your fireplace. Special clay material called tile lines the inside of the flue. Although clay tile keeps water, chemicals, and other things out of your flue during the winter, age, extremely hot temperatures, and the chemicals created by the fires in your fireplace can crack the clay material over time.
Cracked clay tile can allow gases and other dangerous substances to pass into your home during the winter. The unseen substances can cause a host of health problems for your family and pets, including carbon monoxide poisoning. Carbon monoxide poisoning causes a great number of symptoms, including headaches and vomiting.
In addition to health problems, cracked clay tile can trigger many issues for your chimney. The acids and chemicals created by the burning wood in your fireplace can pass through your cracked liner and break down the bricks in your chimney. Your chimney can quickly become unstable enough to collapse.
If you think your flue liner contains cracks, call a chimney masonry repair contractor for services today.
How Can a Masonry Contractor Fix Your Flue?
A masonry repair contractor will need to view the inside of your flue before they fix it. A contractor must see if the flue is still structurally sound. If the flue looks weak enough to collapse your chimney, a contractor will repair it first.
If the flue looks reasonably safe and sound, a contractor will seal the cracks in your flue liner. A contractor will seal the cracks with a material that doesn't break down or weaken under hot conditions. The material must also be strong enough to support the liner after it dries.
If the liner is severely compromised by cracks, a masonry contractor will suggest you reline it. In this case, you may want to reline your flue with stainless steel or a similar material. Steel may last longer than clay over time.
For more details about your clay flue tile and how to fix it, contact a masonry repair contractor today.
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