When choosing the ideal chimney system for a facility, you’ll likely need to pick between prefabricated chimneys (modular systems manufactured off-site) and those that are field-fabricated (welded on-site). Which is the better option for you? Actually, it’s not all that close of a contest since prefabricated chimneys have many advantages, including lower costs and higher quality. Let’s take a deeper dive into the benefits of prefabrication.

1. Quality Control

Because prefabricated chimneys are crafted in a controlled environment, with state-of-the-art equipment and expert care, they will always be more reliable, more consistently manufactured and built to a high quality. A field-welded chimney is only as good as the team on the field putting it together, which means it is susceptible to overlooked mistakes, inexperienced handling and uneven supervision. Prefabricated chimneys, on the other hand, are built to the highest standards by experienced hands.

2. Fire Protection

It’s no secret that most chimneys face intense heat and pressure. A UL listing—which provides independent assurance for unquestioned fire protection, is a safety prerequisite. A field-fabricated product is never UL listed, so you can never be certain that it will meet the highest fire protection standards. On the other hand, Schebler products have been UL certified for more than 25 years, delivering certainty when you need it.

Learn more about what it means to be a UL listed chimney.

3. Tighter Fit

With a UL listing, our chimneys require significantly less space. For shorter runs, we can slope our prefabricated chimneys at 1/16” per foot versus twice that (1/8” per foot) required for field-fab options. The advantage is even greater for longer runs: runs over 75 feet require ¼” per foot, compared to 1” for field-welded ones.

4. Lower Costs

Prefabricated chimneys don’t need the cumbersome, on-site welding required with field-fabricated chimneys. In fact, excessive time and labor costs are common issues with field-fabricated solutions. On-site issues also can result in on-site delays, further impacting costs. Those problems aren’t found with prefabrication.

5. Expert Customization

Built off-site means built-to-fit. Every Schebler chimney system is custom-configured from detailed submittal drawings. Precise measurements, including pressure drop and outer shell temperature calculations, ensure our prefabricated chimneys are purpose-built for every application and environment. In a field-fabricated design, most of those calculations are made during the installation process. As a result, installers must figure out workarounds and odd configurations on the spot, and some decisions might decrease system efficiency.

6. Faster and More Efficient Installation

As you might expect, all those field-fabrication workarounds mentioned above rack up even more labor hours. Those hours might be more acceptable if the result was a higher quality product. Not only are prefabricated chimneys installed faster, but their tighter manufacturing quality control ensures they will almost always last longer and perform more reliably than field-welded chimneys.

7. Unrivaled Support

At Schebler, we’re known for our expert support, and always go the extra mile to give distributors, architects, engineers and contractors the certainty to succeed. Have questions or problems? We’re available and eager to help. We also have the best warranties in the industry (including 5-year, 10-year, and limited lifetime warranties). You don’t get those benefits with a field-welded chimney.

The Certainty of Prefabricated Chimneys

Why rely on on-the-field and on-the-fly manufacturing when you can have the certainty of prefabrication? Our prefabricated chimneys and their components are all custom-made in our 175,000 sq. foot manufacturing facility, based on precise submittal drawings done in 2D or 3D and supervised by expert engineering and manufacturing teams. As an employee-owned company, you also get the certainty that only pride-in-ownership delivers. With Schebler, you’ll discover what our customers already know—our prefabricated chimneys are more reliable, more affordable, stronger built, longer lasting, and more durable than field-welded options.

Let us help you get started with your next prefabricated chimney system: find a distributor or contact us to discuss your project.