My 100 year old chimney is in bad shape, so I decided to tear it down and rebuild it. Prior to beginning, I thought it was just the bricks and a steel liner, however once I took off the crown and the first course of bricks, I could see that there was also the original clay liner. I have a couple of questions:
What is a good way to tear down the clay liner? The first section seems to be about 2 feet high, 1 foot wide and about an inch thick. I'm working alone, so I don't think I can just lift it off safely.
When I rebuild the chimney, can I just build the brick part and run a stainless steel liner through it without any sort of clay liner? In other words, is the clay liner providing some sort of structural purpose for the chimney that I am unaware of?
My chimney is not used for a wood burning fireplace, rather, it is an exhaust for a gas boiler and a gas water heater.
