Bellingham WA home inspections (King of the House): Creosote and fire safety

Posted Jun 25, 2007 @ 1:44 am, Viewed by 285 Visitors, Read 289 Times.

A Bellingham home inspector sees some amazing chimneys when inspecting wood stoves or fireplaces. I believe that just about anyone, even those who know nothing about home inspection, will realize that this chimney shown below is a fire waiting to happen. The creosote was about an inch thick and caked from the top clear down to the homemade, and terribly inefficient, wood stove. Since creosote is flammable, it is important to have wood stoves and fireplaces regularly cleaned. And I can tell you, as a professional home inspector, that most people with wood stoves, fireplaces and pellet stoves do not have them cleaned nearly often enough. Lots of people make it worse by burning green wood that is not seasoned. Please be very careful with your wood burning appliances and the associated chimneys -- both masonry and metal. You might take these basic systems for granted but they are dangerous if they are neglected.

  

The view from above, kind of scary! 

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kingofthehouse

kingofthehouse Experience, attention to detail, knowledge and ethics. Those are the attributes people are looking for in a home inspector. Steven L. Smith, owner of King of the House Inc, meets all of those requirements. Read More

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