We have a 8 year old house with a masonry chimney and fireplace. The fireplace has never had a good draw (smoke comes into the room) and there is a leak (water) in the basement where the underside of the firebox joins the foundation. This leak is only present when we have rain with high winds.

Recently we had a chimney inspection where a chimney cam was inserted in the chimney, and the company indicated that we needed a new fireplace liner, as the current one was damaged.

I have two questions, first could the damaged chimney liner be the source of my rainwater leak?

Second, we were quoted $4,500 for a comprehensive repair including a new chimney cap and damper, chimney liner and water sealing on the exterior chimney. Does this seem reasonable?

Thanks in advance.

--Dan