rbaake Posted November 14, 2011 Report Share Posted November 14, 2011 Need some help on a single family short-sale built in 1886. Clients first home with very little money for repairs. Whats the cheapest way to fix Photo 1 (chimney venting gas fired appliances below bedroom window). Is this even a problem at this distance? I see a lot of high-efficiency furnaces and direct vented water heaters below or near windows. Photos 2&3 show a drop ceiling tile removed. All original plaster ceiling has been removed an the attic space is directly exposed (same way on the first floor). This is not the first time I've seen this. Besides others things, I called this as a fire safety issue. Anyone ever witness this before and if so what did you say? Thanks for your help... Download Attachment: IJ1.jpg 91.04?KB Download Attachment: IJ2.jpg 84.22?KB Download Attachment: IJ3.jpg 122.91?KB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Raymond Posted November 14, 2011 Report Share Posted November 14, 2011 A match and a gallon or two of gas should do the trick. I see enough in those three pics to tell them to run like hell if they were my clients. Really. If they are worried about how to pay for a short block extension on that chimney, how the hell do they expect to heat that place with the second floor open to the attic? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rbaake Posted November 14, 2011 Author Report Share Posted November 14, 2011 Forgot to mention that the chimney can't be extended as it's below the soffit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kurt Posted November 14, 2011 Report Share Posted November 14, 2011 A match and a couple gallons of accelerant sounds better all the time..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Garet Posted November 14, 2011 Report Share Posted November 14, 2011 I wouldn't consider it a safety issue, but the drop ceiling will leak air like a sieve, taking heat with it no matter how much insulation is piled on top. Take out the drop ceiling and install drywall. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
allseason Posted November 14, 2011 Report Share Posted November 14, 2011 Hard to tell from the angle of the photo, would the chimney clear the eave if it was extended? If not-Remove the masonry chimney and install a metal flue and you could get it around the soffit. Install sheet rock where needed. Install firestops at the same time. You can do anything you want if you have enough money. They need to fix this stuff as it's a life safety issue. Are those asbestos shingles on the exterior? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
allseason Posted November 14, 2011 Report Share Posted November 14, 2011 Good chance the internal chimney is unlined as well. What is its purpose? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brandon Whitmore Posted November 14, 2011 Report Share Posted November 14, 2011 As far as picture one, I would just sleeve a vent up through the chimney and treat the chimney as a chase. The vent termination needs to be at least 8' from the sidewall or 2' above it and they aren't even close. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bain Posted November 14, 2011 Report Share Posted November 14, 2011 Clients first home with very little money for repairs. That's the important part, and you may well be the only person involved who will understand and/or care about their financial constraints. I was in a house for about 1/2 an hour last week, after which I called the buyer--a repeat customer--and asked if he had an extra 50K socked away somewhere. He wanted to know why I was asking, and I told him if he DIDN'T have that spare 50K, he shouldn't buy the house. This apparently made it back to the realtor, whom I understand had what we call in Kentucky, a rather intense hissy fit. And on the subject of gasoline and accelerants, I once finished describing what was up with a horrible house in front of a buyer and her realtor. The house was a hundred-year-old rat that wasn't built to last a 100 years. The realtor asked what the best method to take care of all the flubs would be, and I calmly explained that I would toss in two or three grenades, let the dust settle, and start all over again. Unsurprisingly, these words of wisdom weren't terribly well received, either. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rbaake Posted November 14, 2011 Author Report Share Posted November 14, 2011 Thanks Brandon, the clearances are what I'm looking for in this case. Yes Allseason, asbestos siding which I consider a excellent material.Just don't beat it with a hammer. Chimney is below the soffit. Many other problems with this house. I think in my subtle way I convinced my client to walk away. Don't think I'll ever her from her agent again (times are very tough for the 4700 agents in my county)! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
allseason Posted November 15, 2011 Report Share Posted November 15, 2011 You'll get more work from a happy client. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Kogel Posted November 15, 2011 Report Share Posted November 15, 2011 As the others have said, the ceiling needs to be closed off, and the chimney made safe, or they won't survive to pay the mortgage. Sometimes, the best choice is to add a few grand to the lump sum they need to borrrow. Or cut back on the specialty coffees for a couple of months. The chimney could be extended past the eave with a cheap metal extension. But short term remedies are a waste of money. A new metal chimney will add value to the place. I agree, that the asbestos shingles can be a decent product if kept intact and painted. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hausdok Posted November 15, 2011 Report Share Posted November 15, 2011 Why not take the stack right up through the soffit and roof and flash the damned thing? We look at homes almost daily where chimneys pass up through roof overhangs. There's nothing stopping them from extending that stack except perhaps a lack of will to do so. Tear out the commercial building ceilings and put in some decent ceilings. ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!! Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rbaake Posted November 15, 2011 Author Report Share Posted November 15, 2011 Funny thing about all of this is when I attended 300 hours of mandatory "Home Inspection School", as required by the great State of NJ, we were told by our "Professors" not to remove drop ceilings because they may be hard to replace and site the old "unseen disclosure" disclaimer. Also, never remove a toilet tank cover because they tend to break. If your from NJ you know who I'm talking about. Occupy Main St., who's with me? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marc Posted November 15, 2011 Report Share Posted November 15, 2011 Funny thing about all of this is when I attended 300 hours of mandatory "Home Inspection School", as required by the great State of NJ, we were told by our "Professors" not to remove drop ceilings because they may be hard to replace and site the old "unseen disclosure" disclaimer. Also, never remove a toilet tank cover because they tend to break. If your from NJ you know who I'm talking about. Occupy Main St., who's with me? By 'remove drop ceilings' did you happen to mean the lifting of a suspended ceiling tile to inspect the area above it? Toilet tank cover? I wonder if that 300 hr requirement is the reason why ASHI voted NJ HI's #1 in the country several years ago. Marc Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erby Posted November 15, 2011 Report Share Posted November 15, 2011 300 hours of wasted time is still 300 hours of wasted time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darren Posted November 15, 2011 Report Share Posted November 15, 2011 I wonder if that 300 hr requirement is the reason why ASHI voted NJ HI's #1 in the country several years ago. Marc Gees Marc; there you go, opening old wounds! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rbaake Posted November 15, 2011 Author Report Share Posted November 15, 2011 Wow, didn't know there was a test, excuse the lingo, just trying to mock the system. ...what do you call it... BTW, if I knew what I was talking about I wouldn't be a home inspector, I'd work for ASHI, condense everything Daniel J. Friedman ever said and sell it as my own. ...water closet lid...just not funny. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steven Hockstein Posted November 15, 2011 Report Share Posted November 15, 2011 Need some help on a single family short-sale built in 1886. Clients first home with very little money for repairs. Whats the cheapest way to fix Photo 1 (chimney venting gas fired appliances below bedroom window). Is this even a problem at this distance? I see a lot of high-efficiency furnaces and direct vented water heaters below or near windows. Photos 2&3 show a drop ceiling tile removed. All original plaster ceiling has been removed an the attic space is directly exposed (same way on the first floor). This is not the first time I've seen this. Besides others things, I called this as a fire safety issue. Anyone ever witness this before and if so what did you say? Thanks for your help... Download Attachment: IJ1.jpg 91.04?KB Download Attachment: IJ2.jpg 84.22?KB Download Attachment: IJ3.jpg 122.91?KB Before your client starts monkeying around with the chimney you could suggest that they look at the option of upgrading the mechanical equipment to new energy efficient, direct venting systems. Energy use will be less, chimney can be removed (or abandoned until they can afford to remove it), and there may be some rebate and/or tax credits. The net cost may be less. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marc Posted November 15, 2011 Report Share Posted November 15, 2011 I wonder if that 300 hr requirement is the reason why ASHI voted NJ HI's #1 in the country several years ago. Marc Gees Marc; there you go, opening old wounds! Sorry. That one must predate my membership. Marc Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rbaake Posted November 15, 2011 Author Report Share Posted November 15, 2011 You don't know Dan? Dan is a former home inspector and prolific writer from upstate New York. Among his other contributions to the business, Dan basically wrote the book an training material for Carson Dunlop & ASHI. An interesting guy with the knowledge we should all strive for. You can find him at the link below. http://www.inspectapedia.com/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Les Posted November 16, 2011 Report Share Posted November 16, 2011 You don't know Dan? Dan is a former home inspector and prolific writer from upstate New York. Among his other contributions to the business, Dan basically wrote the book an training material for Carson Dunlop & ASHI. An interesting guy with the knowledge we should all strive for. You can find him at the link below. http://www.inspectapedia.com/ Gee, I did not know that and I thought I knew everything! I also thought Kurt M, Jim K, Bill, Scott P, etc may have contributed some small bit to ASHI's collective knowledge. That ASHI must be really smart! Dan is a great guy, but not the author of everything inspection. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kurt Posted November 16, 2011 Report Share Posted November 16, 2011 Dan is a great guy, but....... There's the inescapable benefit of editorship in any act of writing. Dan needed, and desperately still needs, editing.....and formatting, website design, cataloguing, and just about everything related to publishing. I think it's important to think about our job like a curator of a museum.....we have mountains of assets (info) instantly available (it ain't just Dan), and we have to have the ability to pull out those bits of information that are most relevant to what it is we're talking about. Without curation, mountains of information are not easily engaged, or interesting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Raymond Posted November 16, 2011 Report Share Posted November 16, 2011 Who would be fool enough to tackle that? Makes my head hurt just thinking about it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
allseason Posted November 16, 2011 Report Share Posted November 16, 2011 I agree with Kurt. His site is great but can be coma inducing trying to navigate. As I recall in years past it was not that way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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