Client told me my damper was installed backwards after 8 years

Had a homeowner call me out last month because their smoke shelf was charred black. Turns out I installed the damper plate facing the wrong direction on their prefab fireplace back in 2016. Now I double check every install with a smoke test before I leave the job. Anyone else had to eat crow on a install mistake that was sitting there for years?

3 comments

3 Comments

davis.mia2mo agoTop Commenter

Installed the damper plate facing the wrong direction" - oof, been there. I once roughed a return vent into a stud bay that was blocked by a fire block for five years before someone found it. Guess that's why they call it "humble pie" not "confident pie.

felixw681mo ago

Actually the saying goes "humble pie" because eating crow was the original metaphor. But I think you mixed up two different sayings there. "Confident pie" isn't a thing, though I like the idea of a dessert that makes you feel good about your bad decisions. And honestly, five years of blocked return air sounds like you were serving the whole house humble pie for half a decade. At least the damper plate mistake gets found pretty quick usually.

wade7802mo ago

Yeah but at least the fire block wasn't the problem for five years. Lucky it wasn't worse.