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My dad told me to stop scraping with the grain and I fought him on it for a year
He's been doing chimneys since the 80s. I always thought scraping with the grain was gentle, less damage. But he kept saying no, you're just pushing creosote deeper into the brick pores. Finally tried it his way last month on a heavy buildup job in an old house near downtown. Cross-grain scraping pulled out way more gunk in half the time. The brick actually looked cleaner after. Has anyone else had a stubborn habit they had to unlearn from someone older in the trade?
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cora_jenkins16d agoMost Upvoted
Used to be the same way. Dad showed me a brick he'd been scraping wrong for years versus one he did right, and the difference was like night and day. Cross grain is the way to go for actual cleaning, just need a lighter touch.
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sean_perry17d ago
Yeah I gotta say I see it the other way. Cross grain might yank out more junk but it also chews up the brick face if you're not careful. I've seen guys go too heavy handed and leave the parging all scarred up. With the grain is slower but you get a smoother finish.
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lee.casey16d ago
haha wait, you're saying with the grain pushes creosote deeper? That's wild. I always thought gentle was the way to go too, kind of like sanding wood. Now I feel like I've been just smearing gunk around for years.
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