Hey everyone, I'm a bit anxious about my 54-year-old home. I just had a chimney inspection done and learned that while my chimney has a flue liner, my natural gas furnace doesn't. It's really freaked me out, especially since this wasn't caught during the home inspection. There's some water damage that they missed too, though a structural engineer assured me my home is in decent shape overall despite some expected cracks for its age.
When the chimney guy came to take a look, we found some debris in the basement, including a piece of steel and concrete that had fallen. He didn't seem too worried about it and plans to install a new liner and clean up the mess, but I'm concerned about the long-term implications.
Is this a common issue for older homes? Will I regret this down the line? I just did some French drains outside to manage water leakage, but I'm still feeling uneasy about everything. Any experiences or advice?
2 Answers
Honestly, there's no need to panic. As long as the chimney itself isn't crumbling, lining it should take care of things. Just get that installed and you should be all set! It's pretty normal for older homes to have these kinds of quirks, so try not to stress too much about it.
If you have the budget, I’d recommend switching to a high-efficiency power-vented gas appliance. That way, you wouldn’t need to worry about the chimney anymore, just cap it and you’re good! It might be worth looking into, depending on your situation.