Is it OK to watch??

I dang sure would be there. It's your dime so they are working for you.

Our new stove is being installed on Monday. I took the day off work so I can be there while it's being installed.

we charge extra if you help, but by all means ask questions now while you have the perfect opportunity

coffee and donuts ?

Not that my experience will be your experience but I had agreed to an install identical to yours. I insisted on Roxul vs they wanted to use the pink stuff. Was done OK but the Roxul at the bottom was limited to a couple small pieces that dislodged during final positioning. I know this because I saw it myself during my re-install. Have them use plenty, get it up above the damper, stuffed around the liner as it enters the clay tile if it can be reached, below the damper and fill the smoke chamber. A couple pieces of baling wire to keep it from dropping may be needed. Though not as good as a metal block off many report good results after doing similar and it's all cheap, fast and easy while everything is open.

I was there and even offered to pay extra for the Roxul. I saw them use it but did not get my head into the fireplace before they put the insert in. I think it was an case of my expectations and theirs being different but it's your house and you don't want to do it again trust me.

For a ballpark I used 3 bats of Roxul Safe and Sound just to fill my smoke chamber and probably 4.5 on the bottom in total while putting in a metal block plate.

Never give anyone working on YOUR house the benefit of the doubt. It's your family's safety at stake.

BrotherBart said:

Nobody does anything in or on my house without me being there.

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X2 when they are busy walk around and check what they did or will do, ask questions, have them show you as much as possible, offer coffee or water, be pleasant with them, you will get more that way.....hopefully....

BrotherBart said:

Glad I sat back in the yard on a lawn chair when they put on my new roof last summer.

Me: "Ya know. I haven't installed shingles in 40 years but back then we didn't do the rakes that way."

Forman: "I will go take a look."

Forman: "We are going to redo and fix them."

Me: "Thank you."

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Same here. New shingles and ridge vent installed. I went into attic (while they were still here) and noticed they only cut/removed wood from ONE side of the peak for the ridge vent.

The specs from the manufacturer CLEARLY state that BOTH sides needed to be open.

I made them remove the shingle-roof caps and cut the sheathing and do it over!

OP: YES, be there, watch them. Even be active if you have "concerns".

When the installers showed up with our wood stove and seen the fourteen steps leading up to the front porch it scared em. I told them we could put the stove in the loader bucket of my tractor and I would set it on the porch for them. From that point on, we were buddies!

I usually break the ice by asking how much extra they'll charge if I watch, and how much of a discount I'll get if I keep my mouth shut!

begreen said:

I watched as the installer started nailing the support box braces in instead of screwing them in. And I watched as the sheetrock screws started popping through their drywall patches. I stopped watching when I heard oops, because he missed with the hammer. Yes, right thru the ceiling drywall. After that experience I have done my own installs.

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Sounds like some real winners!

You can watch without sitting right there on top of em. Come and go, make small talk, find common ground. With some things in common, they will naturally want to go above and beyond! Offer them drinks and a bathroom to use. And if everything is top notch, a small tip is very memorable.
I see nothing wrong at all with the install that you mentioned, insulation stuffed at the top and bottom. The liner may or may not need to be insulated. If its tall, mostly interior and not cracked then you'll be fine. Although I prefer an insulated liner, and we rarely do an uninsulated liner.

This fall a house I drive by every day had a liner installed in an existing fire place chimney. I knew and did business with the old man that was the previous owner till he passed away. It was a beautiful fireplace and he was very proud of it. I don't know what the new home owner did but the liner they had put in don't seem right to me for some reason. When the wind blows from the north the cap and the flat piece of galvanized sheet metal on top of the chimney are leaning to the south side of the flue. When the wind is outta the south the whole works is tipped to the north. I don't know much about such things but it sure looks like 2 idiots met on that deal. Someone wasn't paying attention and someone else didn't really care.