Since we moved I had to install my stove over at the new house. There was already a hearth set up and a block chimney right on the outside of the house. So I got what I needed to line the chimney and drilled into the block. I got everything cut into the chimney and then got up on the roof to drop in the liner. But after many attempts we could not get the liner down to the stove. The clay tile lining the inside were not laid straight and had ridges that wouldn’t let the liner pass through. We tried again a few weeks later and even hooked a rope to the bottom of the liner. Pulled on one end and pushed on the other, but no luck. So with work being crazy and not much time we ended up stubbing the pipe straight into the block and burning like that for a while. It burned terrible though. Barely any draft, and fires really hard to start and keep going. So this week I finally had time to address it and I built another chase beside the block. Lined it all in concrete board and installed the liner there. It made a world of difference! Stove fires right up and burns way better. Glass cleared up and it’s throwing way more heat.
Too bad you had to go through all of that with the old chimney. Sounds like maybe poor workmanship of the flue.
Chimney Gypsys! The house I bought recently had a similar issue with the chimney lining. Whoever built it in the mid 50's decided to space the lining terracotta tiles about 3" apart all the way up. Therefor, smoke would be allowed to enter into the chimney cavity. It was used like this for many many years. Luckily though, the liner went down no problem.
