You are not going to believe this one

[begreen]

True story. Friend's Dad's house just had a fire. His sister was sleeping in an attic bedroom and awoke to embers falling on her. They heat with wood in a stove connected to a masonry chimney. This is what they found when they opened up the wall. Yes that's right, the tile liner is not enclosed in brick, nor is there any mortar between the joints. This house has been heated with wood for decades. Talk about a ticking time bomb Fortunately the local fire department was excellent in their response and the home and lives were saved.
If anything drives home the point that when in doubt install an insulated stainless liner, it's this picture.

 

[HotCoals]

I can't believe somebody would have built that with wood burning in mind..or anything for that matter.

 

[Woody Stover]

Yikes!! Maybe the creo sealed up the joints.

 

[Charles1981]

What the truck. That is awful both for the family and the disbelief for such dangerous and shoddy crafting.

What is going on above the roof-line? I mean how did they cover their tracks when the chimney tile hit the roof-line? brick on top of 2x4 rafters?

 

[firefighterjake]

Another point ... sometimes folks will come on here and defend their install or unsafe burning practices by saying they've done it that way or the set up was always that way for years ... just shows that being able to say something is ok simply due to the fact that nothing negative has happened in all those years doesn't make that practice or install safe ... rather it just shows how lucky a person has been ... eventually bad installs and practices invariably catch up with a person ... sometimes with tragic consequences.

 

[Osagebndr]

Wow( nuff said)

 

[Bobbin]

Be., how old is the home in question? It never ceases to amaze me how so many tradesmen will "game the system", sleaze by with poor quality, or fail to stand behind their work... even when such oversights could result in tragedy. We built our home and it was inspected every step of the way (the mason burns wood). When you purchase an existing home shouldn't a mortar-less tile liner be "caught" by the required inspection?

 

[firebroad]

HOLY SMOKES! Pun intended. Glad no one was hurt, and fire was put out in time.

 

[webby3650]

Be., how old is the home in question? It never ceases to amaze me how so many tradesmen will "game the system", sleaze by with poor quality, or fail to stand behind their work... even when such oversights could result in tragedy. We built our home and it was inspected every step of the way (the mason burns wood). When you purchase an existing home shouldn't a mortar-less tile liner be "caught" by the required inspection?

I'm guessing early 1970's by the pics. The only way to see that the liners had no mortar would be with a chimney camera, 20 years ago that wasn't gonna happen. It's very common for me to go to a house after its been purchased to find major problems. Even though their home inspector and their insurance company said it was safe to use.

 

[Warm_in_NH]

Similar set up burned down my buddies house in Mass. House was built on the 80s, burnt around 2000. Tile was stepped and no mortar, no brick in spots.

Was in a sub division, all houses same builder, several others showed the same issues after his fire prompted inspections. Ended up in court with the builder and town inspector.

He was fine, house was rebuilt, but it was nice to see people held responsible.

 

[Bobbin]

Thanks for the explanation, Webby. I hadn't thought of the camera aspect but it makes complete sense (just figured you'd see mortar "leakage" at the joints, but upon reflection that would be wiped clean as the chimney rose). And it also makes sense that inspectors would be more focussed major structural aspects of construction and the "systems" that are most used. For a crew like the one on this site a safe, properly constructed chimney/flue capable of handling a stove/insert would be more important than it might be for "your basic homeowner".

 

[Motor7]

Even if a metal liner had been put down that flue is would still have been unsafe......wow.

 

[begreen]

I think this house is from the 50's but will double check. So much for building them right in the good old days, eh? An insulated liner would have prevented this fire, but now I am thinking they should tear this chimney out and go metal in a chase.

 

[mellow]

Thanks for the pic begreen, that is one for the books. That mason is probably dead by now but I would see if someone could track down his other installs to see if the same threat is possible.

 

[kennyp2339]

Wow, good thing that was caught in time, could have been a lot worse, hope the family bounces back on there feet real quick, it doesn't look like there a lot of smoke / water damage, but its only one pic. BTW - hats off to that fire department, it looks like they did a good job, and were fairly clean with the over haul, actually looks text book professional.

 

[Bobbin]

Motor (anyone), why would the chimney have still been unsafe with a metal liner?

(two very brave firefighters died in Boston, Ma. yesterday... a brick row house in a very toney part of the city. I can't even feature running toward a fire; firemen are some of the bravest people on earth!)

 

[begreen]

If the metal liner was uninsulated it could still conduct heat through the clay tiles. Any contact point between the tiles and wood would have been a setup for pyrolysis.

 

[chimneylinerjames]

That chimney would not have been safe with a liner. Safer....yes, but still not safe. You need a nominal 4" masonry on all sides of a liner.

 

[moey]

My last house had a clay tile chimney that was not closed off on the inside and rested against a wood support for the house. Fortunately we found it when we had the cap replaced and saw wood when we looked down. Never used it, it was a basement install that was just not a good location.

 

[willoweep]

I saw one like the out here in CO about ten years ago. Cinder block surrounding the glue tile was set ON THE ROOF DECKING luckily, the roof ridge cracked during a big snow, and it was discovered. 'We've been doin' it that way for 20 years and it hasn't burned down yet' isn't good enough, no matter how many times you hear it

 

[Highbeam]

I think this house is from the 50's but will double check. So much for building them right in the good old days, eh?

There were cheapskate contractors back then too. Always has been and always will be somebody trying to cheat.

 

[Bobbin]

Thank you for explaining the importance of insulating liners to prevent heat transfer (duh). There is so much I don't know about so much! every day is an opportunity to "learn sumpin'"!

 

[Grisu]

Makes you want to tear out all drywalls to see what "disasters" are lurking behind it. For one, I am wondering if all the electrical installs have been done to code in my house. Better not to think about it until I have really the time to tackle that.

 

[firebroad]

Makes you want to tear out all drywalls to see what "disasters" are lurking behind it. For one, I am wondering if all the electrical installs have been done to code in my house. Better not to think about it until I have really the time to tackle that.

Yep, gonna sleep real good tonight...

 

[craigbaill]

Is it me or there is, what "appears" to be a HUGE chimney going up the side of the house?? wow