Rampart General Pre-cast Chimneys

Chimney Inspection To Identify a Rampart General Chimney

If you’re buying a new home (previously built but new to you) in California, you need to have it inspected. This actually means two inspections: one for the home, overall, and one for the chimney system.

The Oliver Twist chimney inspection crew will immediately identify a Rampart General chimney in the home you’re looking at. You can spot this kind of chimney, too, if you know what to look for.

Rampart General pre-cast chimneys were made entirely in a factory from lightweight aggregate and calcium aluminate.

They’re all one piece and were literally stood up in place against an exterior wall of a home. In almost every case, their color is off-white, making it appear as if the “bricks” have been painted.

What most homeowners may not spot immediately is the fact that there are no bricks in this chimney system. It only looks as if bricks were used to build it.

A Level 2 chimney inspection, sometimes referred to as a “real estate chimney inspection,” will identify a Rampart General chimney. Why is this important? Because there are no lawful or approved repairs for these chimneys.

3 Main Problems with Rampart General Chimneys

Before we touch on the known problems inherent in many Rampart General pre-cast chimneys, we want to point out that other styles of manufactured chimneys from hearth-industry leaders are perfectly suitable and safe, provided there were properly built and installed. It’s just the Ramparts you have to watch out for.

Here are three of the main problems common with Rampart General chimneys.

1. Cracks in the breast plate (insulation plate), which can easily lead to a house fire.
2. Structural cracks often presenting as deep vertical splits in the pre-cast material and leading to safety and fire risks.
3. Damaged flue lining that seems to originate during the horizontal construction process, making the flue completely unusable.