photo?

has issues

I doubt your dryer is vented all the way up there and that they built a whole chimney just for the dryer!

Makes no sense at all, but once in a while we do see some weird stuff!

Venting for your furnace or a fireplace?

the dryer hose does in fact vent here right at the bottom. I removed the hose and sauce the vent panel. its hollow structure and the steam or exhaust vents at the bottom. I'm hearing this is not up to code. no fireplace in this house.. I'll take another look

Typically used to cover metal wood stove chimneys so it looks neater than this:

Maybe the stove was removed and the connection covered over on the inside.

Kyle-

Your last post needs to be corrected to be intelligible: "sauce the vent panel"? Also, you need to post some photos of what you were trying to describe since we can't visualize from your attempted description.

additional photos of the inside of this structure coming later today. thank you all.

It could be a container for cosmic crazies that come out only after your bed time...or a zombie refuge...

Do you ever hear strange music from within, after midnight?

If I were you I would stay away from this side of the house after the sun goes down and on cloudy days.

Ok removed the insulation and cleaned out the vent housing. running the dryer now to see if that was the culprit. this defenetly vents out the chimney although this house has never had one. would this be ok to clean periodically and continue to vent this way?

Has to be one of the more odd things I've heard of. Following

this is a cookie cutter neighborhood. many house with the exact same layout. not sure if others vent the same way. odd for sure

There's not enough pressure from the dryer to expel moisture properly that distance. Furthermore, the ribbed flexible ducting used is a fire hazard, according to the International Residential Code.

Where is the dryer in relation to the vent/chimney? Distance?

Tract house, original owner opted out of a fireplace. Or tract house, cosmetic.

That looks scary. Our dryer duct is too long, I wish we could figure out s better solution that what we have. Does your dryer back right up to that structure? See if you can change it to vent straight out the back of that structure.

What is your reason for questioning this?...just curious or worried?..you may get some info about it from a dryer installer...to see if it is safe or needs to be changed

curious cause our dryer been having issues

ritasj-

There are a number of things wrong with that install, including: length of run, location of run, no insulation, and type of ducting. These things contribute to condensation, lint accumulation, inefficient exhaust, and the potential for a fire. No competent installer is going to give this situation a thumbs up.

kyle......ck with the local inspectors to find out what is the min.(code) for venting dryers. Usually it's just vented out the side of the house(straight thru the wall at dryer just above the dryer....usually at the back of the house where it can't be seen ) where the dryer is. That's the way it's done here in NC. If that's the 'only' reason your GC is giving you, they are trying to rip you off.

Is the 'chimney' open to the outside at the bottom? And the dryer dumps the hot air to the outside at the bottom of the chimney (ie. it isn't trying to push the air all the way up and out the roof)? Can you see the dryer vent if you kneel on the grass and look under the chimney?

The issue with the dryer was because the exhaust was close to being totally blocked with lint.

This isn't making sense. I don't see how the dryer is exhausting via the chimney. It appears that the dryer is in the basement, that the vent is going thru the rim joist and that a louvered cover is installed. I can see daylight thru the cover. Absent is any elbow that would turn the exhaust to vent up thru the chimney. (And a louvered cover would not be used at the top of a chimney--where I glimpsed what looks like a regular round vent topper.)

No, it is not OK to continue using the current venting. At a minimum, the flexible plastic/ mylar vent needs to be replace with rigid vent. Your description is too confusing to advise beyond that.

ETA, that I think Greg's guess that the chimney bottom is open and that the dryer vent cover is either underneath the chimney or the vent is exhausting near the bottom of the chimney.

It's a flue chase usually intended to vent a furnace, water heater or fireplace, etc.

If they use this to vent a dryer and nothing else is in there it's OK...

It don't make much sense why this being there and not being used for it's typical purpose unless they had something else in mind for the future use, like adding a fireplace, etc.

Adding that if what Greg/ I think about the termination of the vent being inside/ underneath the chimney...the duct needs to be extended on the exterior to get the duct cover out where you can inspect and clean it. And to get that wet exhaust farther away from the house so it can dissipate to atmosphere better.

Before I changed it, I had one of those louvered vent covers. Was always inspecting and cleaning lint off of it. The lint builds up on the louvers and prevents them from closing properly. Replaced it with a Lamdro Vent Seal:

Dryer Vent Seal

Yes, it is big and ugly. But it does a really good job of sealing the vent, keeping the cold from whooshing down the dryer vent. Big, big factor during my long & very cold Wisconsin winters.

It looks like it just vents under this structure. It is probably still running to the outside and venting underneath since there is space.