Replacing Wall Thimble

My wall thimble (or nipple...whatever it's called) has been rotted for years now & I have been running my stove by just having regular stovepipe running through the Sheetrock wall, separated from combustible surface with chunks of brick & fireproof insulation. I'm thinking of having it professionally fixed this summer with a new thimble. Is this something a homeowner could do? (Sheetrock wall behind the stove / a cinder block chimney outside/ 6" stovepipe)

Just did a little research & ordered this http://hardware.hardwareandtools.com/search?w=Chi ... +6HSWTP+by
That should work. Not sure how to get the chimney (outside) side in though? (goes right through the wall into a sealed cinder block chimney)

I think that is for just the pipe to to thru the wall, you would still have to put a new clay thimble in.
This is for the black pipe to go thru the wall, I think.

Your black pipe should go thru the thimble and be even the edge of the inside wall of the chimney.

WNY wrote:I think that is for just the pipe to to thru the wall, you would still have to put a new clay thimble in.
This is for the black pipe to go thru the wall, I think.

Your black pipe should go thru the thimble and be even the edge of the inside wall of the chimney.

Looks like it should safely go through a combustible wall though, right? (I thought maybe something more insulated but I can't find anything.

Yes, I think that's what it's made for. You can get some of that high temp insulation and put around it if you are concerned. But Leaving the air gap "should" be enough. If it's made for wood, your coal pipe shouldn't get nearly that hot.

WNY wrote:Yes, I think that's what it's made for. You can get some of that high temp insulation and put around it if you are concerned. But Leaving the air gap "should" be enough. If it's made for wood, your coal pipe shouldn't get nearly that hot.

Thanks, I agree. The way I figure it, I have been running my stove for years with just the stovepipe running through the sheet rock wall into the masonry chimney, with no thimble left. (There is still some mortar surrounding the hole where the thimble was b4 it rotted away) I just can't figure out how to get the "inside the chimney" part of the new thimble into the sealed chimney?? (maybe it'll come with instructions &, at worst I'll just leave that part off)

If you are putting the new wall transistion piece on, you should be able to go thru the front, and maybe chisel out the old one and slide the new on into place. You might be able to put some hi-temp silicone around the new thimble and slide it in, let it dry and put your wall transistion piece on. ?

WNY wrote:If you are putting the new wall transistion piece on, you should be able to go thru the front, and maybe chisel out the old one and slide the new on into place. You might be able to put some hi-temp silicone around the new thimble and slide it in, let it dry and put your wall transistion piece on. ?

Don't follow you here??

here is the wall thimble I ordered http://www.hardwareandtools.com/American-Metal-6H ... 13654.html

it will be going into a sheetrock wall behind the stove, through the 2x4 wall into a cinder block chimney on the outside.

My question is: How do I connect the outside piece (that will be in the sealed chimney) to the inside piece? (The thimble flange is wider than the wall hole. )

Maybe I could put some strings on the outside half, lower it down the chimney from the roof, grab the strings from inside the house behind the stove & pull the halves together??
Anyone ever hooked one of these thimbles up to an existing chimney?

Hi Richard, if I'm reading this correct,, you will need to install a piece of flue pipe through the middle of the thimble. I'd recommend using SS pipe.
The thimble just provides a safe air-gap to combustibles, and a non-combustible hole to insert your flue pipe through..

The suggested SS flue pipe will go from the room, through the thimble, bridge the gap between the wall and masonry chimney, and poke into the ceramic liner of the masonry chimney,,, protruding into the chimney liner by less than an inch..

You could insert the SS flue first, seal it to the masonry from inside the house,, slide the thimble over it, secure the thimble, then sheetrock over the thimble, making it look nice from inside the room..

I think the above suggestions apply... a photo would help..

Greg L

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LsFarm wrote:Hi Richard, if I'm reading this correct,, you will need to install a piece of flue pipe through the middle of the thimble. I'd recommend using SS pipe.
The thimble just provides a safe air-gap to combustibles, and a non-combustible hole to insert your flue pipe through..

The suggested SS flue pipe will go from the room, through the thimble, bridge the gap between the wall and masonry chimney, and poke into the ceramic liner of the masonry chimney,,, protruding into the chimney liner by less than an inch..

You could insert the SS flue first, seal it to the masonry from inside the house,, slide the thimble over it, secure the thimble, then sheetrock over the thimble, making it look nice from inside the room..

I think the above suggestions apply... a photo would help..

Greg L

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Morning Greg,

You have it right. The chimney was built about 30 years ago with a metal thimble protruding through the interior sheetrock) wall to connect a stove to. It rotted out years ago, but there is still some masonry around the hole in the wall. What I have been doing, for many years, is just shoving a short length of black stovepipe through the hole & into the outside chimney. (making sure I have it centered in the outside chimney flue) I replace this short pipe every year (due to rot, etc) but I want to make a more secure arrangement for next heating season. I figure that even if I just manage to connect the inside half of the thimble to the wall, I'll be ahead of the game & have a more secure mechanical connection for the stovepipe from the stove to the interior wall.
My question relates to the outside half of the thimble & how to connect that within the sealed chimney?? (like I said, if I can only get the inside half installed, it will still be safe & better than the way I have been doing it for many years)

That link is for a wall thimble that you have access to both sides of the wall, or floor. They are usually used for an outside wall mount Class-A chimney, aka Metalbestos. What you really need, is a mason or yourself, to install is a clay thimble with a masonry surround to give you the proper combustible clearances if you are going through a wood wall.
Found a nice YouTube link

for a thimble install ‘Chimneyking’ or ‘thechimneywright’ he has a bunch of related chimney installs.
Figure 4 in this PDF http://www.cnr.uidaho.edu/extforest/WFS5%20.pdf gives a clear picture of what you need to do. Make sure you follow your state/city rules for proper clearances and get it inspected, no need to give the insurance people a reason not to pay out in case of a fire damage claim.
The alternative is to go with a metal pipe thimble combo aka Metalbestos, my favorite stove pipe and metal chimney company!
Link to install with diagrams http://www.selkirkinc.com/WorkArea/showcontent.aspx?id=1800

Hope this helps the project.
Time to get to work.

CapeCoaler wrote:That link is for a wall thimble that you have access to both sides of the wall, or floor. They are usually used for an outside wall mount Class-A chimney, aka Metalbestos. What you really need, is a mason or yourself, to install is a clay thimble with a masonry surround to give you the proper combustible clearances if you are going through a wood wall.
Found a nice YouTube link

for a thimble install ‘Chimneyking’ or ‘thechimneywright’ he has a bunch of related chimney installs.
Figure 4 in this PDF http://www.cnr.uidaho.edu/extforest/WFS5%20.pdf gives a clear picture of what you need to do. Make sure you follow your state/city rules for proper clearances and get it inspected, no need to give the insurance people a reason not to pay out in case of a fire damage claim.
The alternative is to go with a metal pipe thimble combo aka Metalbestos, my favorite stove pipe and metal chimney company!
Link to install with diagrams http://www.selkirkinc.com/WorkArea/showcontent.aspx?id=1800

Hope this helps the project.
Time to get to work.

Thanks for the links...Sounds like it's exactly what I was looking for.