"WPB" wrote in message
...
Hello, all: I'd be grateful if someone could give me some advice on two
points.

1. Last autumn I had a chimney cleaner come over and he told me that I
needed a steel liner in my chimney (to the tune of $2,500). My house is
older--about 65 years old. He told me that I was taking a real risk.
Other people have told me that a chimney liner is completely unnecessary
and a waste of money. Opinions?

2. The bricks in the "floor" of my chimney are all loose. That's bad.
But one guy quoted me $175 to repair them (get them all locked into place
and safe) and another guy quoted me $1,400 to $4,000. Quite the
difference! Who should I believe?

Many thanks!

David in Toronto

They may al be right to some extent. Did any of them put a camera down to
look? That would tell a lot. Is there a clay liner now or just brick? If
there is no liner, I'd consider one as brick can deteriorate over time. I'd
get prices on a stainless steel as well as the poured liner where they put a
bladder down and pour a concrete mix around it. Both would work, but I have
no idea of comparative pricing.

The $175 guy may be all you need if th ere are no other cracks or problems.
My concern is, if there are lose bricks on the bottom, there may be loose
brick some other place too, or getting very close to it.