Visited a 200-year-old house last week and their chimney had zero flue liner

I was doing a routine inspection on this old colonial place up in Portsmouth. Owner said the fireplace smoked them out every time they used it. Got up on the roof and saw the whole thing was just bare brick inside from the 1800s. No liner, no tile, nothing. Told them they were lucky the place hadn't burned down yet. Anyone else run into this on really old homes? How do you even approach a job like that without tearing the whole chimney down?

2 comments

2 Comments

holly471d ago

Well, @noahw53, I'm not so sure it's as dramatic as all that. People heated homes with those unlined chimneys for generations without incident, and plenty of them are still standing today.

noahw532d ago

That chimney was basically playing Russian roulette with the whole house. Good on you for catching it before Thanksgiving dinner turned into a bonfire. Bet the original builder just figured smoke would find its way out eventually. Old school thinking at its finest.