Brick fireplace chimney

[Steve Alexander]

The 1889 brick fireplace chimney appeared to be in use. I recommended evaluation by a qualified chimney specialist. Standard recommendation. My question is; can a flue liner for the mid efficiency forced air furnace share the same chimney as the wood burning fireplace? 03 IRC 2427.5.6.1 No solid fuel and gas in the same vent. The gas vent is separate, but in the same flue. what do you think?

[ckratzer]

No,they cannot share.
Think about down draft occurances especially on older, "standing pilot", forced air systems and the possibility of that pilot being blown out.
I hope I understood your question correctly and could help.

[jclark1]

Are you saying they have separate flue liners? Because if that's the case, and they have adequate separation at the top of the chimney, I don't see a problem.

[Michael Larson]

I hope Steve will chime in here but I think he is describing an old(1889) unlined brick flue that has an additional metal vent installed within the brick flue to vent the furnace combustion. A picture a two would certainly help.

[ckratzer]

Hey Steve, come back and talk to us.
As James said, if you have two completely separate liners there should be no issue.
If, as I think Michael suggests, a vent pipe has been routed through a wood burning chimney a chimney sweep could not thoroughly clean the thing which could ,of course, lead to a chimney fire.
And as you read for yourself , code says it's a no, no.

Another thought; I would definately defer an 1889 unlined brick flu to a chimney expert

[Larry D. Kage]

One flue added inside another flue that is also being used is wrong.

Inspector strongly recommends having a N.F.P.A. Level II inspection of chimney and related components performed by a professionally certified chimney sweep prior to the close of escrow.

Level II Inspection

The addition of a new home heating appliance or a change in the type of fuel a homeowner is burning requires a Level II inspection. This inspection level is also required upon the sale or transfer of a property or after an operating malfunction or external event that is likely to have caused damage to the chimney. The scope of a Level II inspection includes that of the Level I inspection plus the inspection of accessible portions of the attics, crawl spaces and basements. It may also include a performance test such as a smoke test or a pressure test and possibly an interior chimney video inspection if recommended by the certified chimney sweep.

[Steve Alexander]

Sorry I was absent from discussion! Yes the metal flue liner was on the gas fired furnace. It was routed through the original brick chimney which is also currently used for a wood burning fireplace. I did request evaluation by a qualified chimney specialist. I always request evaluation on all brick chimneys that don't have a metal or tile flue no matter how old they are. Thanks for your comments. I thought I new the answer, but wanted confirmation. I'll try to provide better information in the future.