Thread: Think I'll Be Disclaiming This

So while setting up this inspection, the buyer tells me he wants to measure the length of the fireplace chimney flue interior as he wants to order a wood stove insert with new flue liner. It's a one story roof with low pitch and he asked if I was OK with them coming up on the roof with me. I said OK. I pull the spark arrestor cap off the flue top like I normally do, they take their measurement, and I assume they are done.

Well after we get inside and I'm looking at things, I come back into the basement level family room that has the fireplace to see they have done this.

Alrightythen.

Wow!!! That tops just about anything any of my clients have done.

Funny one, Nick, thanks for sharing.
Sometimes you gotta tell them "First you buy it, THEN you can start fixing it".

After they pay for cleaning up the house and buy it, they can get a level II inspection. Chances are that steelform fireplace is rusted out and they cannot be fixed in situ. It must be torched out. The hearth extension is too short. There is not the 16" non-combustible floor protection in front of the stove. That's a "slammer" insert which means there is probably some 3rd degree glazed creosote in the chimney. That chimney should be closely inspected for signs of a chimney fire. The internal passageways of the convection air ducts should be scoped for signs of combustibles or gaps in the mortar as is commonly found in them.

By the time he does it right, he'd be better off blowing that pieced of junk out of there and installing a listed EPA phase II rated hybrid fireplace/ stove and chimney.

I've learned to never trust insert installations. In my book they should always have further evaluation.

So Nick, did you say anything to the client about this, and what did he say? Curious as to how you handled this.

FORGETABOUTIT

Originally Posted by Michael Chambers

So Nick, did you say anything to the client about this, and what did he say? Curious as to how you handled this.

There was nothing for me to say at that point. They had already pulled the unit completely out. Then they put it back and I documented it in the report with this same pic included in the report.

People never cease to amaze me. I arrived to one home inspection and found the buyers son tearing up some decking. It needed to be repaired, but I had to patiently explain that he was jumping the gun a bit. And we hadn't even started the inspection.

A couple of years before that, I arrived to find the buyer painting one of the bedrooms. In the last case, obviously the buyers' agent had given them the lockbox code. The unfortunate coincidence was that both homes had the same listing realtor.

Can't remember for sure, but both homes were probably bank foreclosures. Still . . . .

WOW!! haven't seen a Mag light like that in years...

Originally Posted by Nick Ostrowski

So while setting up this inspection, the buyer tells me he wants to measure the length of the fireplace chimney flue interior as he wants to order a wood stove insert with new flue liner. It's a one story roof with low pitch and he asked if I was OK with them coming up on the roof with me. I said OK. I pull the spark arrestor cap off the flue top like I normally do, they take their measurement, and I assume they are done.

Well after we get inside and I'm looking at things, I come back into the basement level family room that has the fireplace to see they have done this.

Alrightythen.

Originally Posted by Marc M

WOW!! haven't seen a Mag light like that in years...

I think I have one in my van somewhere... I use it to hold dead batteries.