My neighbor's chimney liner failed after just one winter.

He put in a cheap liner kit himself last fall. Now, creosote is leaking into his living room because it wasn't sealed right. How do you deal with folks trying to save money on something so important?

4 comments

4 Comments

uma_jenkins311mo ago

Actually, when you talk about cutting corners, I see your point. But with the chimney liner, it's more about missing a crucial step like sealing it right. My cousin did his own liner but spent extra on high temp mortar and it's fine. It's not always DIY that's the problem, it's knowing which parts can't be skipped.

the_emma1mo ago

I mean, you're spot on about it being about knowing what can't be skipped. I've seen that so many times with DIY stuff. Like when I tried to save money by not using the right sealant on my bathroom tiles, and now I've got mold issues. It looked fine at first, but after a few months, it all went wrong. And it's always the stuff you think you can skip that comes back to bite you. So yeah, your cousin did it right by not skipping the high temp mortar.

norag871mo ago

Look at my uncle in Milwaukee. He's used the same cheap liner kit for 15 years with zero problems. The real issue is rushing the job, not the product itself. Sometimes a careful DIY person does better than a pro who doesn't care. Even torres.riley's gutter might have worked with a different install method. Blaming the materials is an easy excuse when the real problem is skipping steps or not reading the instructions.

torres.riley1mo ago

That story about the liner failing after one winter is a painful lesson. I tried to save cash by installing my own gutter and now my porch has a permanent water feature. Cutting corners on big stuff usually costs more later.