Call this an unsafe chimney?

[jkogel]

The oil furnace has been venting into this brick chimney for 50 years. It appears to be double-whythe brick, with a bit of mortar fallen out. Now there is an added gas water heater vent. I called for an inspection by a heating technician, along with a checkup of the old furnace. What scares me is the water heater was installed by a plumbing and heating company, and they obviously thought this was acceptable?

John Kogel
www.allsafehome.ca

[Dale Duffy]

Originally Posted by jkogel

The oil furnace has been venting into this brick chimney for 50 years. It appears to be double-whythe brick, with a bit of mortar fallen out. Now there is an added gas water heater vent. I called for an inspection by a heating technician, along with a checkup of the old furnace. What scares me is the water heater was installed by a plumbing and heating company, and they obviously thought this was acceptable?

John Kogel
www.allsafehome.ca

I would of definitely wrote it needed to be inspected by a licensed chimney sweep that's for sure.

Let him condemn it---

[Christopher Currins]

scares me is the water heater was installed by a plumbing and heating company, and they obviously thought this was acceptable?

Are they the same ones that installed the roof covering?

[jkogel]

Originally Posted by ccurrins

Are they the same ones that installed the roof covering?

I'd say no, they're plumbers not roofers, and I suspect they never went up on the roof to check the chimney. That other flue is an upstairs gas fireplace, appears to have a metal liner, or we'd hope so.

[Ben J. Gromicko]

http://www.csia.org/HomeownerResourc...3/Default.aspx
Unlined chimneys are hazardous for so many reasons. That's what I put in my reports. CSIA has a lot of good stuff for narratives. I use their language and refer to them throughout my chimney and HVAC sections of my report.