My brush got stuck halfway down an 8 inch flue last Tuesday

Honestly, I was working on a regular job over in Arlington and thought I had the right size brush. About 4 feet down, it just jammed solid and wouldn't budge up or down. Took me a solid 20 minutes of wiggling and pulling to realize the liner had a crushed spot from an old bird nest block. I ended up having to use a small rotary tool attachment I carry for tight spots to chip away the creosote around it. Finally got it free but scratched up my hands pretty good on the rough metal. Has anyone else run into a crushed liner like that in a newer home?

2 comments

2 Comments

walker.alex2d ago

Man, crushed liners in newer homes drive me nuts. Was this a tile liner or a stainless steel one? Because I've seen that happen with some cheap stainless flex liners that got pinched during installation, but with tile it's usually from the mortar bed shifting. That rotary tool trick is smart, but how bad was the scratch on the liner surface? If it's deep enough it could lead to a corrosion spot later, especially if you're in an area with a lot of acidic creosote from burning softwoods.

kelly_hart281d ago

@walker.alex Oh man, you're asking about a scratch I made. My luck with tools is legendary. Cut a gash that looked like a road map. Probably gonna rust out by next winter knowing my track record.