As a home inspector, one develops yet another take on this theory espoused above. That variation would be more along these lines: "Boy, with all the dangerous things adults do, it is amazing that they make it to old age."

The photo below, and this is not uncommon, is a wonderful example of that. Resident solution to a chimney liner problem: Loose fit, too much wobble, secure things together with some bricks at the perimeter. That keeps that nasty old metal in place. Often loose bricks or pavers are used to "cap" an old chimney. The fact this is a cobbled together mess, in general, is less of a worry than the potentially falling objects. At this waterfront property, wind is a given.

Some of these bricks, at the time of the inspection, had already fallen off and they were about half way down the roof, not too far from being over the back door. I remember, as a kid, some fool was arrested for throwing a half dollar off the Space Needle. Police said that, from that height, it would have been fatal had it hit a person on the head. I think a brick falling from the roof might be pretty tough on anyone below except for, maybe, the most hard-headed homeowner. He or she would think that the sky was falling.

Steven L. Smith