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Rant: Forgot to check the flue liner before a big job last Tuesday
I showed up to this old house in Brookline and started setting up, only to realize the flue liner was cracked all to heck halfway up. The homeowner said they just had the chimney cleaned but I guess they missed it. Had to scrap the whole sweep and come back with a relining kit, cost me a whole extra day and $350 in materials. Anyone else ever get burned by a bad inspection report from the previous guy?
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felix15525d ago
Man, that's a tough break. I was just reading a blog from a guy up in New Hampshire who swears by running a camera up every chimney before you even unload your gear. Saves you from exactly this kind of headache. Sounds like the previous guy might have just done a visual from the fireplace and called it good. How is that supposed to catch a crack halfway up the flue?
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stone.jesse25d ago
That "visual from the fireplace" bit hits close to home. Had a guy do that on a job last fall, swore the liner was good. Three months later the homeowner calls me, smoke pouring out of the wall. Camera showed a crack you could fit a dime into, hidden around a bend. Those guys give us all a bad name. Solid advice from that New Hampshire guy, honestly.
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taylor_flores25d ago
Ain't that the truth? That visual from the fireplace trick is just asking for trouble. @felix155 is right on the money, that New Hampshire guy's camera advice is gold. I had a similar deal last winter, a "clean" chimney that was actually cracked so bad you could see daylight through it from the outside. Took a camera to see it, but the homeowner was already getting smoke in the living room. Lazy inspections like that are why people don't trust us in the first place.
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