Ok.. this isn't a question, but there are a few at the bottom of this. I am just going to post here what my progress is on doing my own lining and insert. As I go along, maybe I will learn something new from ppl here and maybe they may learn something new from me. Feel free to comment. Here is the situation..

We own a house built in 1810, 3 story's high. It has 3 fireplaces but is only 1200 sq.ft. We are closing off 2 fireplaces that would never see use, and concentrating on the largest one to put back in service. It is in the dining room (first floor), and about 3 feet from an enclosed spiral staircase (original wood). We hope that heat will travel quite easily through the house using the staircase. We also have the ability to close off this staircase on every level. First level is 3 rooms with Dining room being the center room. Second level is 3 rooms. Third level is one large room with a bathroom. We have only been in the house since April '04. The previous owners had a vented propane insert installed in the firplace we are going to use. The chimney was inspected last year and shows alot of creosote from before the propane insert. The total height from base of fireplace to top of chimney is just over 30'. Last weekend I cleaned the lower half of the chimney with a 12" square chimney brush. I was able to reach the lower 15' from inside the house. Debris was mostly creosote and very little or no brick dust. I had planned on cleaning the upper half the same day, but my ladder (28' extension) would not reach. Plus the slope of the roof is too great to walk on. So I have decided to erect scaffolding. I work in commercial construction so I was able to borrow it. I have four 6'6" frames plus a 5' frame. All this plus jacks would get me to 32'. This would have the chimney at waist level. And yes, the scaffold is level and will be tied off.

I am going to reline the chimney with an 8" round flexible stainless liner. I plan on wrapping the liner with the correct insulation and the wire mesh. I hope to pull the liner through the chimney from the bottom, for I don't see it being an easy job to feed 35' of liner with insulation down from the top. I saw a bobvila.com video where they used a manual boat winch to pull a liner through a chimney. I plan on trying the same.

After the liner is in place, it will be hooked up to an Appalachian woodstove insert (model 32XLBW).

Now, for a few questions..

Once I start pulling the liner, do I need to space it in the existing chimney or can it be left where it is once the pulling is done? What holds the weight of the liner? Does the terminus take care of all that weight? Anything I should be aware of when pulling the liner?

I appreciate any and all answers. I will keep the forum updated on my progress throughout the next few weeks. Oh did I tell you that the insert won't be here until Dec. I just want to knock out all the other "fun" stuff before it arrives.

Well, off to finish building my scaffolding.. - tom