ribidibi -
My experience is that of a company trying to rip us off...
My wife and I rebuilt the upper (from roof up) outer brick portion (not clay flue tiles) of our chimney. Hadn't had a fire in it for years. Asked a reputable company (Seattle/puget sound area) to come out an clean the chimney.
They came out/cleaned; and gave us a report stating our chimney was toast; and a 'great deal' on having it relined with stainless steel...
Got me to looking; research, etc. Found out a lot. One - a regular Joe can do this job themselves.
2. Had several other companies come on out, and give me bids for how much they would charge to line with Stainless.
All THREE - stated my chimney was FINE; and did not need to be relined. Our house was built in 1950. Two of them (since we are getting ready to sell) told me that they would do a Write UP stating they had inspected our chimney; and it was FINE and SAFE - for FREE. All three of the companies stated it would be good if we had the tile brought up higher; and a crown put on... We did hire one of these companies to do that job. That company added clay tile; but did a lousy job (three times) putting in a new crown.
They ended up hauling away the crown material they had done (it kept cracking within 24 hours of being done); and I poured the new existing crown. (Gee, no cracks.) sigh...
Anyway, get several opinions. And Know that you can (if you truly need it) save yourself a ton of dollars - if you do this job yourself.
A stainless liner does slightly reduce your draft. Usually nothing that you will notice. Flexible is easier to install than non flex. Here are a few links to places which provide how to info to general public; and will sell supplies to you... More info is readily available on the net. Good Luck.
http://www.chimneylinerinc.com/liners_only_chimney.htm
http://www.sleepyhollowchimneysupply.com/chimney_liner_superflex_304.htm
http://www.chimney-liner-central.com/
http://www.chimneylinerexpress.com/
David
PS: the one actual link is just one of the above. I guess you would have to 'copy/paste' the various suggested link texts into a browser..
I just did a quick search on +diy +liner +stainless +chimney
Here is a link that might be useful: DIY Chimney Repair
Q