Even a Titan can get Jack Legged!

nashvilleshomeinspector • October 24, 2016

Well friends I was out in beautiful and scenic Brentwood the other day performing an inspection on a former TN Titans home for my buyer client. One of the most notable issues was the installation of a recently installed gas water heater. A natural gas water heater was installed to replace a direct vent water heater which is a carbon oxide health risk. We need to fully understand the difference between a direct vent and natural draft water heaters as I see this all the time.

Direct vent water heaters take combustion air (oxygen) from the exterior and discharge vent gas directly to the exterior through a double wall vent pipe. The combustion chamber is sealed and the only place for the vent gas to go is…..outside…..allowing these water heater to vent directly to the exterior at grade; bam. Woohoo! A natural draft water heater is not sealed and the only motivation for the vent gas to go outside is the draft created by the heating up of the metal flue…..ya know heat rises…in TN at least. Therefore, the flue must be of length to create motivation for the vent gas to go up the flue and not vent into the room…..which is an asphyxiation risk….Carbon monoxide poisoning. The flue for a natural draft water heater must discharge above the roof line by 2 feet and be at least 5 feet in length.

The reason why natural draft water heaters get installed when replacing direct vent water heaters is cuz direct vent water heaters are expensive….about 3 times the cost of a natural draft water heater. Soooo the homeowner calls a licensed plumber to replace his direct vent water heater and the estimate is about $2300 installed…eeeek! He then calls Bubba the handy man who says he can do it for $750 (by installing a natural draft water heater)…..well that sounds a whole lot better…except when your paying the funeral bills for the loved one that died as a result of the ensuing carbon monoxide present in the home.

Another issue to consider. Some less experienced home inspectors will not catch this issue as it is subtle. As we move into the slower holiday season, a lot of hungry inexperienced inspectors are out there giving low cost inspections that will not catch issues such as this and providing you with a checklist style report with a bunch of 1 sentence comments. Click on this link to see the actual comment for this water heater ooops-nat-draft. I’m as tight as they come with money…….but not when it comes to BIG investments…….cuz you usually get what you pay for. Make sure you ask prospective inspector how many inspections they have personally performed…(I have about 6000 under my belt)…not how many the company or franchise they work for has performed. Move on if they have inspected less than 1000.

Seeing Knowing Cheering on The Titans! Inspector Bill Carlson

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Carlson Home Inspection; Home Inspector in TN. Waived Your Home Inspection? Find Out What You Bought! 20 Years Experience, Licensed P.E. I'll Perform YOUR Inspection Personally..

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Did you waive your inspection in a multi offer situation? New construction or older home it’s time to find out what you bought and where to start! STILL providing the most THOROUGH home inspection and DETAILED inspection report in a 100 mi radius to Nashville after 20 years. See 12 full example reports at www.seeingknowingcaring.com ! This was my discovery at a recent inspection: Seeing Knowing Discovering the fungal Nirvana Inspector Bill Carlson

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Repair: The original fireplace chimney was essentially built into the solid masonry wall structure of the home located on the interior side of the wall (chimney not visible at exterior). The chimney no longer passes through the roof line and the chimney is not suitable for use. The top of the chimney was demo'd below the roof line elevation but was not blocked off and air sealed in the attic or at the top of the fireplaces. Currently, free air transfer occurs between the attic and living room and attic and basement as a result and is a significant energy efficiency issue bringing air with attic conditions into the home. When the HVAC system at the 1st level turns on, attic air is pulled from the attic down the flue into the living room. The attic temperature was approx. 100 deg F at the time of inspection. Loose brick is also present at the top of the flues and could be a falling hazard down the flue if dislodged. A chimney/fireplace technician should be contacted to properly block off and air seal the chimney flues and address debris. Seeing Knowing Throwing money away Inspector Bill Carlson