Expert: James Ball - 8/8/2009

Question
I live in a condo with a Martin BB3640L corner fireplace.
I have been told that the outer flue at the chimney cover is short stacked (not connected and has dropped about 10 inches). The inner flue is connected to the cap. I have been told by one contractor this is okay and I have been told by another contractor this is not okay. NFPA 211 doesn't really say a whole lot about this and the Fireplace was installed in 1985 and no manual is availible. I feel I need a third opinion to point me in the right direction. Thank you ahead of time for your help in this matter.

Answer
Hello Mike, I would have a local Certified Chimney Sweep (www.csia.org, there you can look up by zip code to find one near you) take a first hand look at what you have they should be able to help.
I looked on the National Chimney Sweep Guild's web page for that manual but they did not have it, sorry
Hope this helps
James