Wood heat may have lost some of the
popularity it enjoyed during the oil crisis,
but many builders still occasionally
have a client who wants a wood stove
in an addition or new home. If you put
in a wood burner, you'll have two
options for venting it—an insulated
metal chimney or a masonry chimney.
Metal vs. Masonry
Both metal and masonry chimneys
safely vent combustion gases if properly
built. Therefore, which type to use
should be decided by balancing cost
and aesthetics.
Metal chimneys install quickly, but
their material cost is high. The reverse
is true of masonry—their material costs
are low, but they're labor-intensive.
Since these relative costs can vary a lot
from job to job, on