A chunk of our chimney flue broke off after a windstorm blew the metal cap off. Can just that part of the flue be replaced?
Answer
Not correctly. The clay flue usually comes in 2–3 foot sections, which means the top part that you see on top is part of a 2 or 3 foot section. The flue is surrounded by a cement cap and crown. In order to remove the section of flue, at the very least the cement crown will need to be removed in order to reach in and remove the section of chimney flue so a new section can be installed. After that, forming a new cement crown will be required to replace the crown that was removed. That would be the proper order to replace that section of flue.
If you assumed an 8-inch piece of flue could be removed and another 8-inch piece of flue placed on top without disturbing any other part of the chimney, your assumption was incorrect. Probably not what you were hoping to hear, but unfortunately those are the facts. Hope this clears things up for you.
