How to insulate a chimney?

When installing gas or stove heating in a house, it is important to take care of chimney insulation. This will help to achieve effective heat savings and protect the structure from temperature changes. Let's take a look at how to properly insulate a chimney.

Why do you need to insulate the chimney?

Chimney insulation helps to avoid many problems with the heating system. First of all, it prevents the formation of condensation on the walls of the boiler, which accumulates and begins to destroy the pipe.

In addition, the insulation of the chimney of a solid fuel boiler reduces the need for frequent cleaning, due to the fact that soot burns well and does not accumulate on the walls of the structure. The chimney warms up better, and the draft in it improves.

Pros and cons of chimney insulation

Do-it-yourself chimney insulation has a number of advantages:

1. Condensation does not accumulate on the walls of the equipment. This avoids their destruction.
2. After fuel combustion, harmful vapors can evaporate faster.
3. The strength of the boiler is significantly increased.
4. Temperature fluctuations are reduced. This is especially true for the part of the pipe that is located outside the building.
5. Heat losses are reduced. This makes it possible to save on fuel.
6. The insulation becomes a kind of frame that strengthens the pipe placed on the street.

There are practically no disadvantages to insulation. And those that can be identified are conditional:

1. Insulation requires financial costs. As a result, the budget for creating a heating system will have to be increased.
2. A thick layer of insulation makes the structure more massive and heavy. This provokes an additional load on the foundation and roof. To avoid their damage, the issue of creating insulation must be thought out in advance.

How to insulate a chimney?

The method and material for insulating the chimney will depend on what material the chimney is made of. Let's take a closer look at each of them.

How to insulate a brick chimney?

There are several ways to do this:

• plaster the surface of the pipe;
• use mineral wool.

The easiest way is to apply plaster mortar. It is applied in several layers to the reinforcing mesh, which is attached directly to the pipe. When the mortar is completely dry, it is grouted, cracks are filled, and, if necessary, paint is applied. This method allows to achieve a reduction in heat loss by 25%.

Insulating the chimney with mineral wool is more expensive. The insulation process is as follows:

1. The outside of the brick wall is cleaned.
2. The crate is installed using a metal profile.
3. The guide profile is fixed at the top and bottom. The racks and guides are attached to it.
4. Mineral wool is placed between the resulting grids so that there are no gaps between its individual parts.
5. The top of the insulation is covered with a layer of vapor barrier. The joints are glued with adhesive tape.
6. A plaster mesh is applied to the vapor barrier.
7. The top is plastered with a cement mixture.
8. At the final stage, the insulation is covered with siding or dry plaster.

How to insulate a chimney made of asbestos pipe?

The chimney insulation of this material is carried out in those places where the pipe is in contact with cold air (uninsulated attic, street). It is also worth insulating the ventilation ducts.

The material used for insulation must meet certain requirements. It should not melt or burn. Mineral wool is an ideal option in this case. The process of insulation with this material is similar to its use on a brick chimney.

Insulation of a stainless steel chimney

The material for insulating a stainless steel pipe can be mineral wool, plaster mortar, glass wool, cinderblock pipes, or foil for chimney insulation.

The easiest way to insulate a metal chimney is to use a "shell" made of a larger diameter pipe. It is created as follows:

1. Openings are created in the roof slab that are 20-30 cm larger than the chimney diameter.
2. When winding, a small overlap is made. For this purpose, mineral wool with a thickness of 6 cm or more is used.
3. A wire is used to fix the cotton wool.
4. A casing made of a larger diameter pipe is put on top. If necessary, it is fixed with an adhesive tape or screed.

Having insulated the chimney, you can be sure that its service life will be much longer than that of an uninsulated structure. It will also improve draft, reduce the process of condensation and soot deposition.