Belinda Leopard
09-08-2023, 12:00 PM
Hello, I arranged to have new boiler furnace put in to replace my mother's old 94-96 Burmham boiler. The HVAC installer realized the liner that was supposed to have been installed in 2007 was not done correctly. The 6" SS liner stops at the bend or offset? and not the thimble in the basement. The gas water heater nor furnace were hooked to the flue or venting properly. We had a Chimney company come out and look at it. They also confirmed that the furnace flue was not installed correctly, and liner was stuck in the chimney. However, we found the original contract for the liner that was installed in 2007. Had the owner come out and look at it on Thursday 7 September. The owner is saying in the work order: "it may be necessary to remove existing terracotta tile in order to install the correct size liner. ####### is limited by the cavity space inside the chimney. During the removal of the furnace flue tiles the fireplace flue tiles may be damaged because of potential construction defects within the chimney. The 2 flues are adjacent to each other without a proper wythe wall. ###### is not responsible for repairing the fireplace flue if it is damaged...."
My mother unfortunately suffers from dementia now possibly from long term exposure to low levels of Co2 leaching into the house from a mostly blocked chimney for the past 16yrs. She is not the only one experiencing forgetfulness, myself @48yrs old and my sister's husband who is 51 are to some degree. I've been staying there four days a week for the last 7years. The HVAC company also found some unexplainable sediment build up at the opening of the thimble area and the bend of the chimney. Also likely due to the incorrect installation.
Chimney history:
My father built the house in 1976. He paid for a brick chimney with a terracotta liner to be constructed. The chimneys are side by side, pic attached. I tried to add more pics but it would upload. He had the chimney inspected back in 1976 and there was no issue then or mention of a wythe wall being required. My mother used to have oil heat at one time and then it was switched to natural gas. I couldn't tell you what was in the chimney between the time when the oil furnace and the boiler was originally put in, either 1994 or 1996.
Am I being taken advantage of? And do I need to have the original company correct the issue or can I have the 1st chimney company do the work and the original company pay for it to be corrected?
Any advice or info would be appreciated.
My mother unfortunately suffers from dementia now possibly from long term exposure to low levels of Co2 leaching into the house from a mostly blocked chimney for the past 16yrs. She is not the only one experiencing forgetfulness, myself @48yrs old and my sister's husband who is 51 are to some degree. I've been staying there four days a week for the last 7years. The HVAC company also found some unexplainable sediment build up at the opening of the thimble area and the bend of the chimney. Also likely due to the incorrect installation.
Chimney history:
My father built the house in 1976. He paid for a brick chimney with a terracotta liner to be constructed. The chimneys are side by side, pic attached. I tried to add more pics but it would upload. He had the chimney inspected back in 1976 and there was no issue then or mention of a wythe wall being required. My mother used to have oil heat at one time and then it was switched to natural gas. I couldn't tell you what was in the chimney between the time when the oil furnace and the boiler was originally put in, either 1994 or 1996.
Am I being taken advantage of? And do I need to have the original company correct the issue or can I have the 1st chimney company do the work and the original company pay for it to be corrected?
Any advice or info would be appreciated.