Brick chimneys vs metal liners in old Denver row homes, which one actually holds up?

Was out in the Capitol Hill area last month looking at a 1920s brick row home and the chimney was a mess. Mortar was crumbling at the crown and the flue tiles had cracks you could fit a dime through. Owner said a liner company quoted them $4,800 for a stainless insert but their mason buddy said just repoint and patch it for $900. I get that brick is original and looks right, but with the freeze thaw cycles we get here I feel like a liner is just buying time. The other side of it is if you're not burning wood, just gas, does the brick even matter that much? Anyone else deal with this either way, what did the next inspection show? I'm leaning liner but not sure if I'm overthinking the whole thing.

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rose_cooper5d ago

Ugh, I've been exactly there with a 1910 place in Berkeley. Paid $950 to repoint and patch, thought I was being smart, then the next winter had water dripping behind the wood stove. The issue wasn't the mortar, it was the cracked flue tiles letting moisture into the brick itself. Ended up getting a stainless liner put in for around $4,200 and it's been solid through five winters now. If you're just running gas, the brick is mostly cosmetic, but the liner keeps the whole chimney structure from rotting out. I'd skip the cheap fix, repointing only hides the real problem.