Why wett inspection works differently in St. Catharines
What makes wett inspection in St. Catharines unusual is not the technique, it is the age spread of the housing: a single route can cover 1910 brick and 2019 factory-built venting.
Infill and renovation work in St. Catharines frequently reroutes venting without re-sizing it, and undersized or over-long runs are the single most common cause of poor draft we see.
Range hoods and basement bathroom fans routinely out-pull an older flue, so the house depressurises and the flue reverses — a St. Catharines problem that looks like a chimney fault but starts elsewhere in the building.
Across Western Hill, Grapeview, Grantham, Lakeshore and Old Glenridge, the housing stock changes street by street, and the correct method changes with it. A century home with a soft-brick stack does not get the same treatment as a 2010 build with a factory-built vent — using one method on both is how systems get damaged.
If you live anywhere near the Welland Canal, the practical takeaway is that a wett inspection visit should start with an assessment, not a tool. Any crew that begins work before telling you what they found is guessing on your behalf.

