That attic fire in Akron changed my whole approach on how I clean

I was working on a house in Akron last month and the homeowner said they had a small chimney fire the week before. When I got up on the roof I could see the liner was cracked in three places from the heat. Since then I always check the liner condition before I even start sweeping. Has anyone else run into damaged liners that looked fine from the bottom?

3 comments

3 Comments

fisher.adam9d ago

@patricia317 is spot on about those hidden cracks near the top. I had a job last year where the liner looked fine from the bottom, but when I got the camera up there the top six inches was practically crumbling. The homeowner said they'd been burning for years with no issues. After that I started doing a full visual inspection from the roof every single time, even if the customer says everything is fine. A cheap borescope from Harbor Freight has saved me from at least three situations that could have turned into fires later on. It's like the old timers said - just because you can't see it doesn't mean it's not there.

patricia3179d ago

Funny enough, that cracked liner might have saved you from a much worse problem down the road... sometimes a small fire reveals hidden damage before a big one takes the whole house. I've seen liners that looked perfect from the bottom but had hairline splits near the top where nobody ever checks. It's almost like the fire did you a favor by showing what was already weak.

miles_sanchez9d ago

That's a really good point, I never thought about it that way. A little smoke can act like a free inspection for things you wouldn't catch otherwise.