What Lives Inside Your Flue
Every wood fire leaves creosote — condensed smoke solids coating the flue interior. In small amounts it's normal. Built up, it's fuel: creosote is what burns in a chimney fire, and chimney fires routinely hit temperatures that crack clay tiles in minutes. Even without a fire, decades of heat cycling and moisture work the tiles until they crack on their own.
How Tile Damage Progresses
Hairline cracks first — invisible without a camera. Then spalling tile faces, missing mortar between tile sections, and eventually missing tiles entirely, leaving gaps where heat and gases reach the brick and framing. Finding curved clay fragments in the firebox means you're well into this progression.
When Relining Becomes Required
Not advisory — required: when tiles are missing (not just cracked), when the flue is oversized or undersized for the appliance, when a chimney fire has compromised the liner, or when an insurer or code official demands it (common on home sales). A stainless liner gives you a continuous, properly sized, code-compliant flue in about a day, usually without touching the brickwork.
The Inspection That Answers It
A camera run shows every tile, joint, and gap — and you watch the footage with us. No guessing, no "trust me." Level 2 inspections include the full camera run. Relining service details here.
Send the form — mention tile fragments, inspector findings, or any chimney fire history.