Why does nobody talk about creosote glaze setting off alarms 3 hours into a job
Had a rough one last Thursday at a house out in Fairview, homeowner swears the fireplace was swept 14 months ago but I pulled out chunks of glaze the size of my fist. About 3 hours in my brush got stuck hard and I mean stuck, had to run a second rod down to wiggle it free without tearing the flue. Turned out the last guy never touched the smoke shelf, just ran a whip up the pipe and called it good. I ended up quoting her $850 for a full chemical treatment and she acted like I was robbing her. What do you all do when you find glaze and the customer pushes back on price, do you walk or try to explain it?
How long did the last sweep say the flue was actually in use? Fourteen months since a cleaning means nothing if she was burning green wood or a lot of paper, glaze builds way faster than regular soot. Did you get pics of the smoke shelf before you touched it, because that's your proof right there when she argues price. Curious what your chemical treatment actually covers at $850, is that just the flue or the whole box and shelf too?