I have a wood-burning stove that I've used for over 6 years. It's been inspected by a certified inspector, as has the chimney. All's well.
I contacted a local seller of stoves because I was interested in getting a newer, more efficient stove. They said they would need to do a full inspection first to be sure their stoves could be installed with our existing chimney. I hesitated, because we've had an inspection, and it would be expensive to do theirs, but it seemed like the only way to go ahead, so they came and did the inspection.
Their report shows problems that they say will require a complete reinstall of the whole chimney, not just the stove. They want upwards of $15k for the job. I inquired about the report and got pretty defensive responses. They said that there were three different type of chimney used and that this was not allowed. But the pictures show that the main chimney, which goes from the stove to outside the house, is perfectly fine. At the stove end there is a connector from the stove to the chimney. This, they say, is not allowed. At the other end is a short bit of wider chimney as it comes to the top of the chimney. Also not allowed, they say. I asked what part of the NFPA211 details that this is not allowed and was told they didn't have the time to look this up.
Meanwhile our other inspector says nothing is against code. Whom do I believe? Is it really against code to have short pieces of piping on either end of an otherwise perfectly functioning chimney? And if so, why would I need to get rid of the entire chimney to fix this?
I contacted a local seller of stoves because I was interested in getting a newer, more efficient stove. They said they would need to do a full inspection first to be sure their stoves could be installed with our existing chimney. I hesitated, because we've had an inspection, and it would be expensive to do theirs, but it seemed like the only way to go ahead, so they came and did the inspection.
Their report shows problems that they say will require a complete reinstall of the whole chimney, not just the stove. They want upwards of $15k for the job. I inquired about the report and got pretty defensive responses. They said that there were three different type of chimney used and that this was not allowed. But the pictures show that the main chimney, which goes from the stove to outside the house, is perfectly fine. At the stove end there is a connector from the stove to the chimney. This, they say, is not allowed. At the other end is a short bit of wider chimney as it comes to the top of the chimney. Also not allowed, they say. I asked what part of the NFPA211 details that this is not allowed and was told they didn't have the time to look this up.
Meanwhile our other inspector says nothing is against code. Whom do I believe? Is it really against code to have short pieces of piping on either end of an otherwise perfectly functioning chimney? And if so, why would I need to get rid of the entire chimney to fix this?
