Chimney advice needed after "professional installation"

[bholler]

I've already flagged it as a problem transaction with VISA. We'll see what happens Thursday. Thanks for that document - I'll print it out and be ready.

Good stuff like this pisses me off. What type of "pro" is this company? Are they certifed chimney sweeps or installers?

 

[Kamchatka]

In response to direct questions before they came, they're certified at both. They're a local family heating/cooling business. We'll see. I'm forearmed with facts, VISA has been notified, and I'll be here when they come -- I work at the house. If they don't agree to fix it right, they're out the door. If they agree and then don't fix it, they're out the money. Usually, that's fairly persuasive. I'll report back. Thanks again!

 

[webby3650]

In response to direct questions before they came, they're certified at both. They're a local family heating/cooling business. We'll see. I'm forearmed with facts, VISA has been notified, and I'll be here when they come -- I work at the house. If they don't agree to fix it right, they're out the door. If they agree and then don't fix it, they're out the money. Usually, that's fairly persuasive. I'll report back. Thanks again!

They better just stick to B vent and leave A vent to the pros.

 

[begreen]

Proceed carefully. Stress with them that the main concern here is safety and you need to have the job code correct and inspection ready.

 

[pen]

Any luck getting this resolved yet? Hoping to hear of a positive update.

 

[Kamchatka]

No real resolution yet. They have been back, taken a look..."oh it didn't look like that when we left," yadda, yadda, yadda. Then they tried to tell me that a 1" clearance was plenty. Moot point, since they didn't give me that, either. At this point, I pulled out the literature and they dropped that argument. They actually told me that it must be a recent change (lit was printed in 2012), and they're not sure they can get 2". Tin roofs are such a challenge to work with - that's why hardly anyone with a tin roof wants a wood stove (I did not let my mouth fall open in appalled shock - deserve an acting award, I do). They're going to do some investigating. At this point, I don't want them back in my house. Period. They have no freaking clue what they're doing. We're going to have our Amish friends finish up. There's really not too much left to do and I know they'll do it right. We'll have to get someone in for inspection, of course. In fact, I want to get an inspector in before any repairs are done so it's not my word against theirs.

If I didn't fear for anyone else whose chimney they might have installed, I would just drop it and write the $300 labor charge up to lesson learned. But they said such ignorant things while they were here -- "oh, these modern stoves, you can install them right against the wall if you want to"... "You didn't really have to build that hearth pad, it would be fine on the floor" (this is an 13NC with 6" legs and the floor is wood) that I'm concerned that someone's house could burn down.

I'll talk to VISA in the morning. I actually don't mind paying them for the components. We'd have had to buy that anyway. I will be visiting them Monday and will ask to see their certification. When I do a Google search for certified chimney professionals, their name does not come up. If I find they are not, in fact, certified, then the fight is on, as they presented themselves as certified.

So that's where things stand. Really not looking forward to this, but... well, you've gotta do what you've gotta do.

 

[bholler]

Make sure you Amish friends follow all the instructions to many of the worst installs i have seen have been done by Amish or Mennonite contractors here. There are also some very good ones i dont want to sound like i am bashing the Amish but there are quite a few in our area that cut allot of corners. As a certified sweep it would bother me as much if not more if they actually were certified and did work like that. Because it means that they are not simple ignorant because to be certified they need to know what they did was wrong and dangerous. I can forgive ignorance easier than i can some one putting a customers house and life at risk when they know better. I hope it all works out for you good luck.