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I used to think a full chimney liner was always overkill for older homes
I was talking with a veteran sweep named Carl at the regional meetup in Springfield last month. He showed me photos from a 1920s house where a partial liner failure led to a serious fire in the adjacent wall, something a full liner would have stopped. He said, 'Saving a homeowner $800 now can cost them their whole house later.' That stuck with me. I just quoted a full liner replacement for a similar old brick chimney in my town, explaining the risk clearly. How do you all handle those tough talks with customers about needed safety upgrades they don't want to pay for?
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the_riley9d ago
Remember Carl's story every time you give that quote. I've started bringing a small section of damaged clay liner to show people, a piece they can actually hold and see how crumbly it is. It turns an abstract risk into something real they can touch. You have to make them see it's not an upgrade, it's a repair for a broken safety system. Their insurance company would drop them in a heartbeat if they knew the chimney was in that shape. Frame it as protecting their biggest investment, because that's honestly what you're doing.
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sethm581d ago
Honestly, that demo feels a bit like fear-mongering to me. I'd rather just explain the facts clearly without the prop.
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dakotag269d ago
My buddy's neighbor had a close call last year. Their partial liner in an old farmhouse chimney cracked, and the heat got into the wood framing. They caught it early, but the fire marshal said it was pure luck. That visual @the_riley mentioned, with the crumbly liner piece, is exactly what finally convinced them to do the full fix after the scare. Sometimes people need to picture the slow burn inside their walls to get it.
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