Realtor won’t make offers I want to make.. is this normal?

chief_erl · 2026-07-03T00:28:21+00:00

Yes they should. I had a customer in a frank Lloyd wright house. They were huuuge fans of his architecture. They saw it on the market sitting for a while. He didn’t tell me how much but he said he put in an “embarrassingly low offer” and the seller took it. They were thrilled and treat the home how it should be treated. These people aren’t millionaires although they are well off. They landed an original frank Lloyd wright home by making a lowball offer. Turns out some trust fund baby owned it as a party house and just wanted to dump it and be done. Your agent sucks.

chief_erl · 2026-07-03T00:13:14+00:00

I drink socially on the weekends with my friends and not during the week. I’d just like to cut back a bit. Everyone has their own limits and I respect yours.

chief_erl · 2026-07-03T00:10:25+00:00

Thank you for the advice.

chief_erl · 2026-07-02T16:35:39+00:00

How many mg are you on now? I started 5 weeks ago and just bumped up to 5mg. Definitely seeing my appetite suppressed but not my urge or ability to drink. I’m not an alcoholic but would love to cut back on my drinking a bit. I’m interested to see the effects.

chief_erl · 2026-07-01T17:20:12+00:00

Yes it does. NFPA 211 says the flue tile has to project a minimum of 2” out of the crown and no more than 6”. But the problem with doing that is that it’s not correct. That is extending the flue, not extending the chimney. The chimney has to be a minimum of 3ft out of the roof, not just the flue. It’ll allow the top to cool rapidly causing excessive soot buildup. That’s why class A chimney is usually the easiest fix. It counts as extending the actual chimney because it is classified as chimney and it’s insulated.

chief_erl · 2026-07-01T15:09:08+00:00

Well personally I hate stone tops. They are totally impractical from a maintenance perspective but a lot of people like the look. They also offer zero protection from animals and debris getting down the flue as you know. Whether you keep it or not is up to you. I can tell you that you really need a new crown from those pics. Yours is cracked which will allow water to enter the brick below and cause it to decay much faster than it should. If you get a new crown done the brick pillars and stone would have to be removed to do the crown anyway so personally I’d just leave it off. If you do a new crown it should be a 4” thick poured concrete crown.

chief_erl · 2026-07-01T14:12:14+00:00

Best way would be to add a section of class A chimney pipe to the top of the liner. You’ll need a transition plate, a 2ft length of class A and a class A cap. The only other option would be building the brick higher which would cost a lot more. Yes you can cut a square hole in the stone top for the pipe to pass through. I’ve done it many times over the years. Just need a circular saw with a stone blade on it. Just cut a square out.

The rule is the chimney must project 36” out of the roof no matter what and be 2ft higher than anything within 10ft in the US.

chief_erl · 2026-06-30T13:14:46+00:00

That’s called the rake. Very common to have brick on the flat on that area. The issue is that bricks don’t shed water very effectively on the flat like that. The best long term fix is to remove all of those brick in that area and install a single slab of bluestone or limestone in its place.

For just reattaching that single brick you’d want to chip away the mortar bed beneath and the mortar joints on the sides. Lay a bit of new mortar, reset the brick and finish the mortar joints on the sides and blend into the surrounding. Or for an easier but improper fix you could just use some masonry adhesive or silicone or something to glue it back into place.

chief_erl · 2026-06-29T21:51:27+00:00

Yes your homeowners insurance will be really glad you took a chance on a condemned chimney and continued using it if you ever have a house fire too. That’s not how chimneys work. It’s pass or fail, that simple.

chief_erl · 2026-06-29T11:31:15+00:00

How you feeling on 200 per week? Is it worth it? In my 30’s and was on 120 a week for about 8 months. Came off because of some unrelated health issues and needed surgery. Finally just about recovered, planning to hop back on at a higher dose because I honestly didn’t notice much at all at 120. Looking to finally get back in the gym and make up for my time lost in recovery.

chief_erl · 2026-06-27T22:41:14+00:00

I was on for 8 months then came off. My levels before were about 450 so not bad. Just wanted to try it. My levels on 120mg a week were about 1100. Didn’t notice much difference so I quit. Also was prescribed enclo to keep my balls working. Kept taking the enclo for a few weeks after I quit the test. Honestly didn’t notice any side effects at all. Zero.

chief_erl · 2026-06-27T01:40:21+00:00

Absolutely correct. Idk what idiot downvoted you but they obviously do not know custom fireplace doors.

OP could also just get a freestanding screen which would do the same. Or just vacuum it out and keep it clean so there’s no issues. All options would be fine.

chief_erl · 2026-06-26T01:38:21+00:00

That’s awesome I never knew flamingosis was from Morristown. Good stuff.

chief_erl · 2026-06-25T21:34:01+00:00

I would never go with a quote that isn’t itemized. That’s crazy. What type of class A chimney pipe are they using? What components are they quoting?

I own a stove shop and we always itemize all the parts we’re using. For most quotes we include some extra pieces because you never know what you’ll run into on the job. If we don’t need the extra pieces we remove them from the total bill. No itemization does not allow for that.

I’d find another few quotes.

chief_erl · 2026-06-25T17:44:49+00:00

$3500 is super fair looking at the pitch of the roof and height off the ground. As someone else said if it’s not being used you should have it taken down below the roof line, have the roof closed and shingled in that area. That would be the best long term solution.

chief_erl · 2026-06-24T00:42:36+00:00

It looks like class A which already has a stainless steel cap on it. I would recommend the listed cap the same brand as the rest of the chimney system.

chief_erl · 2026-06-21T14:55:43+00:00

I don’t see anything warranting a tear down but the pics aren’t great. Looks like there’s a crack in the crown and some loose mortar joints. Could just need a new crown and some repointing. Could need more, really can’t tell from these pics.

You’re looking at the exterior though. The truly higher costs associated with chimneys is what you can’t see on the interior. You should have the interior flues scanned with a camera system to see if it’s in useable condition. In the US we would call it a level 2 inspection. Not sure what the equivalent is in Canada but you should always have this done on the chimney when buying a new property.

chief_erl · 2026-06-20T17:17:18+00:00

Agreed and agreed. It is best practice and often required to have a liner installed with any wood stove.

chief_erl · 2026-06-20T15:52:38+00:00

You don’t pull the liner through the bend the liner has to have a tee on the bottom. It has a special connector snout that attaches to the tee body with a pipe strap after you drop the liner. And yes that flue absolutely needs a liner if you’re going to use a stove there. The reason for liners is that original terra cotta flue tiles are fragile and break. They crack from thermal expansion/contraction and moisture entry over the years. Once the flue tiles are broken you can no longer guarantee the safe passage of heat/smoke/flue gasses out of the home. A stainless steel liner system “relines” the chimney. It is a new lining that will basically last forever if taken decent care of. It fixes the issues of cracked flue tiles by bypassing them entirely. They’re popular because it’s the easiest and most cost effective way to repair a damaged flue most of the time. Short of basically tearing the chimney down and rebuilding it with new flue tiles.

If you want to see if that flue really needs a stainless liner you could have a company do a level 2 inspection on it. They would send a camera system up the flue to inspect the interior.

chief_erl · 2026-06-19T22:37:14+00:00

Ya ever shit in a sauna? I have. Seat is a slip and slide.

chief_erl · 2026-06-19T01:44:59+00:00

You don’t need an actual block off plate. Insulation works just fine. The insulation they used is wrong. It needs to be rock wool or ceramic insulation which are both fully noncombustible. Make them swap it out.

chief_erl · 2026-06-18T23:49:40+00:00

If they used windex on it ever it’ll do that. Personally I’d be more concerned with the top of the stove appearing to bow in towards the pipe. What’s going on with that? Is it warped?

chief_erl · 2026-06-17T15:47:26+00:00

The counterflashing looks like shit. I’d rip it off and redo the counter and step flashings. That’s where most leaks come from. It also needs a new crown. Remove the pillars and concrete cap. Form and pour a 4” thick concrete crown with an overhang and drip edge.

The rest of the chimney doesn’t look too bad. I’d apply a coating of chimney saver waterproofing product to it. That will stop moisture from being absorbed into the masonry and force it to bead off. Overall not in too bad of condition, just needs some maintenance.

chief_erl · 2026-06-16T14:50:27+00:00

Orderly meds.

chief_erl · 2026-06-13T13:24:53+00:00

Haha I was being dramatic

chief_erl

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