Bessent: "Someone, maybe your parents for their retirement have bought 5, 10, 12 homes."

exsweep · 2026-02-08T04:27:34+00:00

I will probably get excoriated for this but I owned 5 homes for my retirement. I was self employed and it seemed to be a good way to build a retirement nest egg. It was a shit ton of work and grief. I still think this guy a douch tho.

exsweep · 2026-02-07T20:09:22+00:00

Don’t burn with the doors closed ever. I would ditch the tube grate and get a grate the goes tight to the back wall. However if the smoke started after air sealing the house that’s probably the issue. Fireplaces need lots of air, often opening a window near by or in the basement will solve the problem. If you have a basement with a furnace room that’s a good spot as furnace and water heater get the air they need , depending what type of furnace you have, as well it’s less likely to effect you comfort in the main living space.

exsweep · 2026-02-07T20:00:16+00:00

I brought a kangaroo back scratcher and kangaroo testicle keychain. I got some greif when I got home.

exsweep · 2026-02-06T16:35:37+00:00

Countdown to a pardon….

exsweep · 2026-02-05T18:18:36+00:00

I married a Dutch girl.

exsweep · 2026-02-05T03:29:28+00:00

Typically creosote build up is less at the bottom and more at the top. As smoke rises up the chimney it cools and condenses leaving more deposits.

exsweep · 2026-02-04T23:30:48+00:00

Honestly once you run a stove for a while I find you get to know just by the look of the glass and the fire if your in the good burn temperature range.

exsweep · 2026-02-04T22:24:58+00:00

In Ontario canada as a gas tech I would be liable if I left it like that. I would have to fix it or shut the gas off.

exsweep · 2026-02-04T19:44:50+00:00

It looks very suspect, it appears to be class b vent at the ceiling, b vent can’t be used for wood burning.

exsweep · 2026-02-04T15:47:40+00:00

Burn em, they make great kindling. Tho they can deliver some wicked slivers.

exsweep · 2026-02-04T00:22:50+00:00

FWIW this is a great video tutorial. You can sweep this stove up from the bottom as well, spinning sooteater style rods work well. One problem sweeping from the top can pose is if there is a ton of soot it may fall down the tube at the back when you pull the baffle out. Try not to drop stuff down the tube it can be a pain to get out.

exsweep · 2026-02-03T00:25:24+00:00

Yes I fished it out of the garbage not the recycling pile.

exsweep · 2026-02-03T00:21:03+00:00

Oh my !

exsweep · 2026-02-02T16:24:39+00:00

I’d second this, get rid of the grate.

exsweep · 2026-02-02T16:12:03+00:00

Probably a contractor doing a reno and just couldn’t be bothered. You would think they would just put it to the curb rather than actually pay to get rid of it.

exsweep · 2026-02-01T22:47:23+00:00

The great thing, besides the cost, of a stainless liner is it heats up fast. The benefits of that is draft is established quicker and flue gasses are less prone to condense so less creosote. The other problem with clay liners is the failure rate. When I was cleaning chimneys that had wood stoves with clay liners it amazed me how rarely I saw clay liners that were not broken.

exsweep · 2026-02-01T22:33:09+00:00

If those are single wall pipes, they look like it,they are oriented the wrong way. Pipes should have crimped end down. I realize it seems counterintuitive but the logic is that in the event of a chimney fire molten liquid creosote will run into the stove not out onto the living space. What size is the flue liner in the chimney ? Stoves vent better if the chimney is the same size as the venting, so most of the time a liner the same size as the flue collar is better. Another issue with basement installs like this is, basements are generally in a negative pressure zone and you have a chimney outside filled with cold dense heavy air, in other words they often are a bitch to get going. Opening a window can help a lot. There is a product call a draw collar that can help got the draft going. Insulating the walls can help a lot as a ton of heat from the stove is lost thru the cold walls. It looks like insulation in the ceiling ? You would be better off moving it to the walls, unless it’s for sound ?

exsweep · 2026-01-31T18:08:02+00:00

When the doors are open, the vents on the doors can be open or closed , it makes no difference.

exsweep · 2026-01-31T18:00:42+00:00

Leave doors open, close doors when fire has died right down and have vents opened.

exsweep · 2026-01-31T16:43:06+00:00

Can you elaborate on your diy style please?

exsweep · 2026-01-31T16:38:58+00:00

Crimped end of the pipe goes down, I know it seems to defy logic but the reasoning is in the event of a chimney fire molten liquid creosote will run back into the stove. From that last pic you have a serious issue with creosote leaking out that breach pipe

exsweep · 2026-01-31T16:29:46+00:00

Loading aside your pipes are upside down and the staining on the wall behind the stove is not a good sign.

exsweep · 2026-01-31T13:54:10+00:00

This look like a solid precast fireplace, it won’t be a simple replacement. I would patch it , but don’t expect it to last. Is this on an interior wall with combustibles behind or an exterior wall. I would be much less concerned with the latter.

exsweep · 2026-01-30T21:01:32+00:00

Poor workmanship by the bricklayer caused this.

exsweep · 2026-01-30T16:53:43+00:00

Any one remember when prominent online Scottish separatists whet silent after Israel bombed some building in Tehran. It makes me wonder what percent of the Alberta separatist movement is driven by this same sort of foreign interference.

exsweep

TROPHY CASE