During our roofing project, it came to the attention of the field supervisor that our chimney had some bricks that needed repair. I was hearing drips into the fireplace, so he assumed that it was the holes and gaps formed in the bricks that were the culprit. Since he wasn’t an expert, he referred us to their masonry department where a brick professional (I am sure that isn’t their title, but whatever) came to inspect the chimney. He was up their for 30 minutes which I gathered wasn’t good news. Then in his truck for another twenty writing up the quote or quite possibly thanking God for making it off the roof alive.
When he sat down to show me the video of the inspection, I was amazed that our chimney was still intact. He gave me some options to choose from and, of course, I waited until Brian got home to go over the details. The gist was that we either do a complete tear down or we could simply put a band aid on it. The first option is guaranteed and pricey while the lowest priced option had “hope for the best” written all over it.
Brian was on his way to get his oil changed in his car when I was chatting with him regarding our latest home issue. I sent him the video so that he can peruse it while waiting for his car. Upon his arrival home, we talked. He said, “do you really want to know what I think?”, which is really code for “I think this is bullshit” and proceeded to tell me that he could fix it himself. Now, friends, my husband can do many things well. I am grateful that in most cases we don’t need to hire a professional, but this is a chimney. A chimney with a cracked, concrete rain cover and hundreds of bricks in need of repair. WTF was on a marquee running through the slideshow in my brain. My eyes narrowed at him and responded, “That would be a NO from me,”. My vision was him on the roof, the chimney crumbling, and then him on the ground dead from the fall. It is like a game of Jenga gone terribly wrong. Aside from the funeral cost, I would still have to come up for the money for the chimney and landscaping, if he damaged any of my bushes. So, do you see my point? I would be out more money, and, oh, of course, have a dead spouse Chimney tear down is the winner.
This morning as he was leaving for work, I inquired on why his oil change was so expensive. He responded that he is using “synthetic oil” and it is a better alternative for his car. He used to do his own oil changes, so I am amused by this revelation. I mean, it probably is regular oil put in a can with the word synthetic written all over it. At least, that is what he would respond if the roles were reversed. So, spend more for synthetic oil and let chimney crumble under his master brick fixing skills. Totally makes sense. Obviously, we differ in our thinking.
The money spent on the roof and the chimney would have made my kitchen look amazing. But never fear, when friends come to visit, I will be happy to show them my new roof accentuated by a strong, solid chimney while Brian shares about his oil changes using synthetic oil. Jesus take the wheel.
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