Visited a 150-year-old farmhouse last week and the chimney was completely packed with bird nests

I went to look at a job in upstate New York at this old farmhouse that's been empty for a few years. Pulled the cap off and there must have been 20 pounds of twigs and straw stuffed up in there. The cast iron liner was rusted through in two spots from all the moisture. Owner said they hadn't had it swept in over a decade. How do people just forget about something that could burn their house down?

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grant.luna19d ago

My buddy had a rental property once where the tenants never said a word about the fireplace. He goes to check on it after they move out and the whole flue was nothing but a solid tube of creosote. Looked like a tree trunk made of tar. It had been burning like that for years, just a slow fire inside the chimney every time they used it. The firebox was actually cracked from the heat. He said the cleaning guy told him he was lucky the place was still standing.