Saw a landlord's DIY chimney job in Baltimore that made me cringe

I was up in Baltimore last month doing a routine sweep on a rowhouse, and the neighbor came over to ask if I could check his chimney too. Turns out he had done his own lining job with some flex pipe he bought at a hardware store. He used regular duct tape instead of high-temp sealant, and the liner was sagging so bad it was blocking the flue by almost 40 percent. I tried to explain that this setup could cause a chimney fire or carbon monoxide leak, but he said it had worked fine for two winters. I get that people want to save money, but this is the kind of thing that gives the trade a bad name. Has anyone else run into botched homeowner repairs that were just dangerous to look at?

2 comments

2 Comments

richard_roberts8014d ago

Did he at least use the good duct tape or the cheap stuff?

umab8614d ago

My dad once fixed a broken garden hose with duct tape and it lasted THREE summers before it finally gave out. I think it was the good stuff cause that hose had been chewed on by the dog and run over by the lawnmower more times than I can count. He swore by the Gorilla brand tape cause the cheap stuff would peel off in the rain. But now I'm wondering if that hose really just held together out of pure spite.