Thanks everyone for your opinions and questions. This post is LONG, but if I can help someone out there learn from my very expensive lessons, it's worth the read. If you are in the market to buy a home, please read this. Below are my answers to some of the comments to the original post: Ikplatow: My quote just came in the mail today for the double wall insulated liner - cost: $2,214.61. It includes the liner, storm collar, and rain cap. The quote for the woodstove insert installation & bringing that chimney up to code to for the woodstove is: $1,719.68. (Again, this does NOT include a woodstove). These quotes seem way off from your costs. I'm going to have another chimney company come in and give me another quote. Logic: This inspector was recommended to me by my buyer's agent. She has used him in the past, and really trusted him. She also said that he is part of the ASHI (American Society of Home Inspectors) and since RI doesn't require a license to be a HI, being part of that organization was a bonus. So, I went with him. I didn't check his references. I should have, but I trusted he was responsible. As far as the report, it's a boiler plate report. VERY general. The only recommendation that was worth anything was getting the upstairs bathroom tub drainage pipe realigned, since it wasn't positioned down, and drainage was painfully slow in the tub. Funny thing is, when this was brought up to the Seller as a negotiation point, he said he'd take care of the problem himself. Well, after a few days, and messing around with it, my realtor informed me he changed his mind, and for me to go ahead with getting a plumbing professional quote. He probably saw all the work that needed to be done, or had someone look at it and told him it was a wreck, and decided to leave it alone. Except for the massive amounts of caulking he put down the drain (still don't know why) to help remedy the problem. I had a friend of the family - a plumber - come over and give me a quote on the work - not including having to rip out the ceiling below to access the pipe. He quoted me $1000, and then charged me $1400. And the job didn't include having the entire foyer ceiling, under the bathroom and which included 3 layers of drywall and blueboard over horsehair stuff) ripped out and a new ceiling put in with plaster. The hallway walls had to be stripped of their wallpaper due to the mold. The entire project cost me $5500. To make matters worse, the friend-of-the-family plumber (who is also part owner of this plumbing company) sent another plumber (young kid) out to fix the drainage pipe, and the tech found 12 microleaks in the copper plumbing. He had to rip all that out. I specifically asked him to replace it with PVC. I wasn't home at the time when the kid did the work, and the kid did the work with copper. When I called the company to ask why, he said he only had copper in the truck, no PVC pipe, and that copper was better than PVC anyways, etc. etc. Being the ignorant person I was about these things, I let it go. It's been about 4 weeks and I'm mysteriously having blue stains in my tub, my sink, and my dishes from the dishwasher end up with a mineral crust on them. I called the RI Dept. of Health department that deals with well water, and asked if there were any changes in my neck of the woods, and also described the problem I was having. The official told me that the problem sounded like the new copper pipes were leaching copper into the water since my water is on slightly on the acidic side. I was baffled by this since alot of people have copper pipes and don't have this problem. He stated that the older copper pipes gather a natural "coating" over time that prevents that from happening, but if you have naturally acidic water, it will corrode the new copper pipes faster. I've tried to call my plumber friend about this ordeal several times, written 5 (friendly) emails, and this friend-of-the-family has not returned my emails or phone calls. So, upon the recommendation of friends, I'm going to call and write him one more time telling him I'm having a water quality test done, including that for copper. My water quality test that I had preformed prior to closing on the house came back great...it was slightly on the acidic side, but otherwise potable and no high levels of anything. If the water tests (which I'm having done by a certified, independent state-licensed lab) comes back with high levels of copper, I'm submitting this to his company and demanding that I get the copper pipes taken out and the PVC in as I originally asked for. Yes, I understand now that I should have had chimney inspections done, as well as the mold checked. I took what was listed on the Seller's disclosure as not the red flags it should have been. In addition, a few friends of mine who saw the house with me before I bought it, told me that the "odor" was probably due to pet odors, as previously mentioned by my buyer's agent. They said that all I would have to do is get the hardwoods sanded and poly'd and I'd be fine. The first thing I did before I moved in, was - you guessed it - had the hardwoods sanded & poly'd. $1500 later, the moldy, musky smell was still there. The cracked pipe in the kitchen was NOT obscured by anything. It was an empty under-the-cabinet space. I guess he didn't put his flashlight on the pipe to see it. I didn't know that, I assumed - again - that he looked at it. Nope. Same deal with the knob & tube. Not obscured by anything. The first thing my electrician did when he came in my house was say "how the hell did the inspector miss this???". Plus, another tell tale sign that you've got K&T is by the light switches themselves (which I didn't know at the time). The "clicks" of the switches when you turn them on and off require more effort to push and make a clicking noise, unlike the updated ones. My electrician said that's a dead give-away. Even if my inspector didn't see it, could he have not at least informed me of the possibility that the old house had knob-and-tube wiring? I didn't even know what K&T was until my electrician told me. The things I know now that I wish I knew only 4 months ago... As far as speaking with the HI, I have not yet. I will tomorrow. And there is a reason why. I have taken pictures of everything, just to get several opinions to make sure I wasn't biased and for them to see for themselves what the extent of the problems are. I have been keeping my real estate agent who sold me the house up-to-date on everything. I don't think she quite believed me until I had her over today and showed her the house. She was shocked. I sat down with her and showed her the pictures I took, and again, she was shocked and kept shaking her head in disbelief. She agreed that the K&T and the crack in the kitchen pipe should have been caught. Before I called the HI, I just wanted to make sure I was in the correct perspective on all of this, and she confirmed that I was. So, I'll make the call tomorrow and ask him some questions. In the inspection report, as far as liability, it states: "Inspector's Liability for mistakes or omissions in this inspection report is limited to a refund of the fee paid for this inspection and report." So, I'm going to try and get my $750 of the inspection fee back. And no, he did not supply me with a copy of the inspection agreement before the inspection. I didn't know he had to or else I would have asked. Again, I bought this house alone, with no family around to help me work this out, so I didn't know any better at the time. Just to give you an idea of how lacking this Seller (the doctor) was in terms of his house (and living in it with 4 children), neighbors came over after I moved in to introduce themselves, and offered their help. They told me the previous owner was very neglectful of the property, and that several neighbors complained to him about the foul stench from the raw sewage leaking out onto the street from a pipe in his yard. He had a cesspool up until 2 years ago. Well, the neighbors had to ask him 3 times, with the final time threatening to call the Health Department about this, in order for him to do something. At that time, he finally got a septic system in place of the leaky cesspool. That's just one example of many that I've heard. I won't bore you with the rest. Mariend: I'm going to the town hall tomorrow to see what permits (if any) were pulled for this supposed chimney liner that the Seller said was installed in 2001. Thanks for your suggestion about going on he HGTV site. The chimney company that came out seems on the up-and-up. I checked references on them, and also checked their website to see what professional and ethical organizations they belong to. The tech also states that they have to pull a permit on any chimney work they do. So, they are accountable to do the work correctly. As far as the blockage in the furnace flue, my realtor that came over today to see all the problems stated that the oil company who installed it (who she highly recommended to me) most likely saw the problem, reported it to the Seller, and told them they would have to have a chimney liner put in. Given the cost of chimney liners, it leads one to believe the Seller looked the other way, and hoped to sell it before anyone noticed. I feel confident that after today having my real estate agent over to see all these things, all my documentation, pictures, quotes, etc. I can reasonably ask the HI for my fee back. That's the only thing I can do at this point. I've also called the oil company who installed the furnace, to speak with the gentleman who personally installed the furnace. All the other times I've called (before the discovery of this problem) he was happy to call me back, and even came over on a Saturday morning to explain how my steam system worked. He has been servicing this house for 30 years. But, yet, when I left the message about the ductwork on my furnace and how it was blocked up, I haven't heard back from him. I'll try again tomorrow. Well, I've written a book. In the very least, I hope someone reads all of this, and learns from my mistakes. Thank you all again for your help/advice/comments. It is very well appreciated.

I hope that those who read this thread in the future learn the important lesson that I would guess the OP has learned -- the cost in time to fix an error at the end of a project relative to that which could have been applied at the beginning of a project to avoid the error is a multiple greater than one. Believe no one! Measure available space at least twice in different ways at different heights. (Include measurements that reveal whether walls are actually perpendicular or parallel.) Take exact measurements and review installation guides to make drawings to prove that the parts measurements add up to the whole. Think about every moving part's range of motion from the point of view of the cook and with a view toward potential interferences between parts. And as aptly illustrated here, use filler strips not only to allow room for door openings, but to correct errors in measurement and to deal with wall imperfections. The filler strip is the patch that fills the gap you didn't know you had. The filler strip should be planned to be wider than necessary to allow material removal when the gap you knew about is narrower than you thought.

Unintended minor damage occurs during stone installation all the time. That is to be expected when handling large bulky objects in a confined space. There are waivers written into every stone contract that cover incidental damage. Now, if they accidentally drop the stone, that is why they have insurance. It’s for accidents. Incidental damage is not an accident. It is part of the standard risk of the job. Final paint and cabinet touch up always need to happen right at the end of any remodeling job. It is the same for doing any controlled demo in a structure where portions are attempting to be kept. As in if you want a new shower, but want to keep your existing floors. That intersection of old and new on the floor can not be guaranteed not to sustain some damage from the demolition of the shower. That is a risk that the homeowner must assume when trying to blend old and new together without doing a complete gut. Now, if the contractor damages a pipe, and it floods the house, that’s covered by his insurance. The damage to the floor tile that is touching the shower curb will not be covered by anyone. The contractor may offer to install some of the shower tile at the shower entry, but he isn’t going to rip out the entire bath floor and put in new tile. Not without getting paid to do so.

@Tim Cleary - Most states are Dillon's rule states, I think there are only 10 home rule states, so Virginia is similar to most other states. Your assertion is the existence of an appeals process and a review board means that the code isn't whatever code officials say it is. You are substituting the review board for the inspector, as proof there is no discretionary power but that just moves the discretionary power and is largely semantics. Have you ever lost an appeal that you should have won? If the answer is yes, then code officials have discretionary power. The problem is that a series of cases in the late 60's and early 70's determined that permits were issued for the benefit of the municipality rather than the homeowners. There is no recourse for administrative action or inaction against officials for exercising their broad discretionary power. --- The question becomes, does correct typically win and incorrect typically lose? What several studies found was that wins and losses had little to do with correct and incorrect application of building codes. There are many examples of losing on appeal even when the appeal mirrors situations that previously won on appeal. This is one of those construction law topics that gets revisited in journals every 5 years and the results are always the same... public agency is pretty terrible. My godfather, who I spent a significant amount of time with, was the plumbing inspector (he was previously one of my father's employees). You are going to struggle to convince me that the process isn't biased and discretionary, because I have heard those "I just don't like them conversations."