I think I can top the house repair story. I went to replace an in the wall gas heater that didn't work in our "new to us" built in 1928 house. When tearing out the wall to remove the flue, I discovered that the installer had used newspaper wrapped around the flue pipe to I insulate it I guess. The paper was all charred and burned to a dark brown. This was inside the wall, between the nice, dry, wooden stud frame with a nice vent to the roof...Heavens knows what would have happened if the heater had still been working. Just one of many so-called "repairs" that the previous owner did around the place that I still find occasionally.

John E.