By Barry Stone
Dear Barry,
When we bought our house, the home inspector said he could not open the damper in the fireplace and suggested we have it checked further. We probably should have taken his advice but did not. Recently, we used the fireplace for the first time, and our teenage son had no problem opening the damper. The fireplace worked okay, but on a rainy day, the brick firebox became wet. Now we're wondering why the home inspector was unable to open the damper and whether leak repairs are covered by the home warranty policy. - Michael
Dear Michael,
Your son would most likely prevail against the home inspector in an arm wrestling match. Be that as it may, leaking at the chimney top apparently caused rusting of the damper hardware, causing the damper to stick. To prevent further water intrusion, a chimney cap is probably needed. It is unfortunate that caps are not required on all masonry chimneys. You should also follow the home inspector's original recommendation and have the fireplace system fully evaluated by a qualified professional, such as a certified chimney sweep.
As to home warranty coverage, that will depend upon the fine print in the policy. With most insurance companies, the primary objective is to protect their financial interests, not yours. This claim would probably be disallowed as a pre-existing condition, but it doesn't hurt to ask.
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