Chimney Styles

Masonry Chimneys

• This style is the oldest and is made from brick held together and finished with concrete and mortar. Masons or bricklayers build them by hand during the overall construction of the house. Masonry chimneys have traditional flues in their base near the firebox to control the airflow into the fireplace and can be shut to keep out cold air or precipitation when the fireplace is not in use.

Factory Made Styles

• Prefabricated chimneys are manufactured in mass quantities at factories and can be made to look like a conventional masonry chimney or have modern designs and be constructed from weather-resistant materials like aluminum, brass or copper. Factory chimneys typically have thin metal pipes with a cooling cavity that chills the smoke before it is expelled into the atmosphere.

Hybrid Varieties

• Hybrid chimneys are a combination of traditional and factory styles. They have conventional masonry bases, fireboxes and smoke chambers but are topped off with a slender cooling pipe supported by a steel bracket.

Air Cooled Types

• To prevent damage caused by overheating, air cooled chimneys have double layers of metal with a gap in between that absorbs the hot chimney smoke and cools it before release. In air-insulated chimneys, the air creates a protective layer to keep it cool. Double metal sheet chimneys have insulation between them that absorbs the bulk of the heat and the remaining heat is contained by the sheet metal.

Chimney Analysis

• If you have a previously owned house and you cannot determine what kind of chimney it has, the firebox can provide clues. Fireboxes made from brick typically have masonry chimneys. Chimneys with oval or square shaped clay protrusions usually indicate a masonry chimney. If the protrusion is made of metal and has a cap, the chimney was probably factory manufactured. A metal firebox is another indicator that the system and chimney were prefabricated. If you have a mixture of mediums with a brick firebox, brick and mortar chimney and a metal pipe extending from the chimney top, the system is likely a hybrid.