Had the worst chimney fire scare of my career last Thursday

Ngl, I was doing a routine sweep on an old Victorian near downtown Portland and the homeowner said they hadn't used the fireplace in months. I pulled about 3 inches of creosote buildup out of the flue, but what got me was the cracked clay liner I spotted near the top. I told the guy he needed a reline immediately, and he got defensive about the cost. Two days later he texted me that soot was falling down the chimney after a small fire, and I had to rush over to check it out. Has anyone else dealt with homeowners pushing back on liner repairs?

2 comments

2 Comments

jamesmason12d ago

Man, that's rough. It's like people think spending money on maintenance is optional until something actually breaks, then they're scrambling. Reminds me of how folks will drive around on bald tires for months until they blow out on the freeway and suddenly it's an emergency.

wells.morgan12d ago

You ever notice how people will spend forty bucks on a fancy coffee contraption but balk at a hundred for new brake pads, @jamesmason? My uncle drove his truck with a check engine light on for six months straight, and when it finally died on the highway, he acted shocked that the muffler had literally rusted through and fallen off. He'd been patching it with soup cans and baling wire, said it was "fine" until the whole thing just went up in smoke.