During this home inspection, the inspector discovered several defects with a masonry fireplace at a 27 year old home in Arlington, Texas.
The inspection of the interior of the firebox revealed that the chimney was dirty and needed to be swept and the mortar in the back wall of the firebox need to be improved pointed / tuck pointed. The floor of the firebox was covered with ashes. This condition limits the inspectors ability to perform a proper inspection which in turn most inspectors will add additional disclaimers to their inspection reports.
The roof level evaluation of the chimney chase / structure revealed that the top chimney mortar cap was in poor condition and needed to be improved. We added an illustration to this video to help you compare the defect that is in place to what an ideal chimney cap should look like. The roof level evaluation also revealed the lack of a cricket or saddle behind the roof level chimney chase. Any time the chimney chase has a width that measures more than 30-inches, the current building standards require the installation of a cricket. This does not require immediate corrective measures due to it being an as-built condition but it is still important to report this condition to your client for informational purposes only.
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