Got called to a job in a 150-year-old house in Philly last month...

The flue was so narrow I couldn't even get my smallest brush through it. Found out they'd been burning wet pine for years and the creosote had layered up like tree rings. Has anyone else run into a flue that's basically been shrunk down by neglect?

3 comments

3 Comments

paulschmidt16d ago

Wait, burning wet pine for years? That's basically asking for a chimney fire, man. I've seen some nasty buildup in my time but that sounds like a solid inch of pure neglect right there. Honestly, I'm surprised the place didn't burn down before you even got the call.

the_charlie16d ago

My buddy Rick runs a shop over in Bucks County and he got a call last year from a lady whose flue was so choked with creosote she thought her fireplace was making its own weather. He said when he looked up from the bottom it looked like a wet tar cave with stalactites hanging down. The worst part was she had been burning those artificial logs you get at the grocery store, the ones that say "clean burning" but leave this flaky residue that builds up weird. Rick had to run a rotary brush up there for almost an hour just to break through the first layer, and he told me the stuff was so hard it chipped his drill bit. He ended up having to cut an access hole in the wall to clean it from the side because the flue was basically a solid tube of fire hazard. By the time he was done he said the pile of creosote on the ground was bigger than his tool bag.

rodriguez.diana15d ago

@paulschmidt bet those fake logs cause way more hidden damage than wet wood ever does.