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A homeowner in Springfield asked me if I could just 'patch' a cracked flue liner.
I was doing an inspection on a 1920s house last fall and found a clay liner with a vertical crack running almost three feet. When I explained it needed a full replacement, he got really quiet and said, 'But my dad always said a little mortar fixes anything.' How do you guys handle explaining serious safety issues without scaring people off?
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abby3083mo ago
That mortar trick is for bricks, not flues.
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wright.taylor2mo ago
Tbh I've been in that exact spot before and it's rough because you can see them trying to hang onto that old advice. That line about dad's mortar trick hits hard honestly, makes you feel like a jerk for pushing back. But @emerycarr is spot on about the carbon monoxide thing, that crack is basically a highway for deadly gas straight into the living space. I usually tell people their dad was probably fixing a different kind of problem, back when houses were built way different and tolerances were looser. A flue liner crack that big means heat and gases are escaping into the walls and attic, not just leaking into the room. You gotta be firm but kind, maybe show them a photo of a liner that failed and caused a fire so they see the real stakes.
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