Problems with chimney relining
Hi all — We had a cracked chimney liner and had fumes coming in through the chimney on the parlor floor. So we had it relined on Wednesday. Well, the guys who did it got soot all over the house. And we still have fumes (but not as bad). We have started to put in…
Hi all —
We had a cracked chimney liner and had fumes coming in through the chimney on the parlor floor. So we had it relined on Wednesday.
Well, the guys who did it got soot all over the house. And we still have fumes (but not as bad).
We have started to put in a claim with our insurance for the soot. Does anyone have any advice about what to do about the soot, the insurance claim, and why we might still be having fumes and what to do about it? Something about the connection, maybe?
This took 1/3 of all our savings, I think I might faint or go insane. I’m ready for a brand-new condo now, but can no longer afford one.
I’m glad you can’t afford one
Thank you so much! I will email tomorrow.
there is something seriously wrong if you detect any carbon monoxide….for a free consultation, email me at errol832000@yahoo.com
Mopar,
If you’d like, please send an email to info@gatewayplumbing.com with your contact information and we can discuss.
Master Plumber, thank you so much for your comment. We are very concerned, and would like to get rid of the fumes asap.
No, nobody has taken a carbon monoxide reading from room to room. (Yes, we do have several detectors, and none have gone off.)
Our boiler company did take some kind of carbon monoxide reading (I don’t know the details) in the cellar. They said they didn’t detect any.
Nobody has taken a thermal image of the walls. I didn’t even realize that was possible.
Today and yesterday there was much more vapor again, and we are worried. We can’t sleep in the owner’s unit and we have a renter moving in on the 15th. I am wondering if the problem could be that our cellar ventilation is blocked by the snow. We have numerous holes in the cellar ceiling through which the vapor can travel.
Another chimney company, not the one who did the relining, came for a visit and said the installation appears to be correct (they only inspected visually and did not put a camera down the chimney). They said we could be smelling vapors from the boiler ignition. They said we need better ventilation in the basement and that we should cover the holes in the cellar ceiling.
The smell changed and the quantity decreased after the chimney relining. Now it smells like gases/fumes/vapor, not exhaust, and there is less of it.
Would love to know your opinion. Thank you so much!
Mopar, has anyone taken a carbon monoxide reading from room to room? I don’t mean with your alarms, I mean with CO gas analyzers. Any chimney company or plumber worth his salt has professional test equipment for this.
Has anyone taken a thermal image of the chimney walls?
The condition you describe does not exactly match up to the cause. A window was closed so there was no ventilation?
No way.
You seem oddly comfortable with this considering you “still have a tiny bit of vapor detectable in one room”.
I know I’m often the voice of gloom and doom when it comes to this stuff, but you had a carbon monoxide event and you’re not being given a good explanation why which means it could happen again.
Please be careful.
I am happy to report that it appears the installation was done correctly and we DO NOT have a leaking liner. It appears the huge amount of gas/vapor Thursday and Friday was caused by the boiler ignition plus the cellar window being closed so we had no ventilation, plus a few other conditions like having holes in our cellar ceiling from electrical work. We still have a tiny bit of vapor detectable in one room — pretty sure it’s from the boiler ignition. We need to fix up the cellar better.
The company that did the work is licensed and insured and appears honest but obviously something went wrong with the tenting situation. Once I got the actual owner on the phone, they’ve actually been very pleasant and reasonable to deal with. I feel bad that they will have such a big insurance claim to deal with.
So I guess my recommendation is to get a recommendation (which we did), use someone licensed and insured, ask them what they do to prevent soot in the house, and what they will do if they do get soot in the house — like do they have a cleaning crew they will hire to fix it? They should tent their work space, cover a cracked chimney, wear booties in the house, etc and as a precaution, you should cover your floors where they will walk, move any furniture away from the chimney and cover it, etc.
Hi Mopar, so sorry to hear about your horrible situation.
We are about to embark on the same type of work and are considering a couple of contractors.
Would you mind revealing which contractor you hired to install the liner? You can email me at: info at worldwideapts dot com
Thank you very much. I hope all turns out well for you.
45 feet, clay liner made of apparently unusually small tiles, yes they removed it completely — or at least that was the plan. Not sure of the gauge.
Nobody ever really determined it was, in fact, cracked. That was based on our saying there were gigantic quantities of exhaust in the parlor. The liner looked ok from the roof. Nobody else ever said they smelled anything. But there’s nothing else it could have been. Nothing from the neighbors, etc.
After the chimney was relined, the smell changed. Less exhaust, more oily vapor. Also, less of it.
Two days after the chimney was relined, there was quite a build up of vapor and in two additional places — the cellar and first floor kitchen as well as the second floor parlor.
I was getting a headache, cracked open some windows, realized the windows in the cellar were shut, and opened one.
Then the boiler people came out. The fumes were strong in the parlor, but they didn’t smell anything. Everything fine in the cellar. (But the smell of their gasoline-stained rags was overpowering!)
Two and three days later, the smells are even fainter. Air much less heavy in parlor. Just a very faint whiff. Could I be imagining things? But no, if it was clear it would smell clear, like it did before all this started.
I’m worried — what if we have a problem, but tests are inconclusive? We can’t sleep in the owners unit, we have a renter who was supposed to move in the 1st and we’ve delayed it to the 15th.