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Cleaned a chimney today that had a 2 inch creosote crust

Got a call from a house in the old part of town, a 1920s craftsman. The homeowner said their fireplace was smoking back into the room real bad. I pulled the cap off and saw this thick black crust, almost like tar. Took me two hours with the rotary brush and a set of rods to chip it all out. After I was done, we lit a test fire and the draft pulled so clean you could see the flame straight up. Anyone else run into buildup that hard on older homes?

2 comments

2 Comments

hall.quinn10d ago

Oh man, two inches is wild. You mentioned glazed creosote - just a little heads up though, glazed creosote is actually a specific kind that looks like a hard, shiny, almost black glass coating on the flue walls. What you're describing with the hammer and chisel sounds more like thick, dense stage 3 creosote which is that hard, matte, coal-like stuff. Glazed usually means the surface is smooth and reflective like a mirror, not chunky. Both are nasty to deal with though, no question. I've seen old coal-burning flues that had both types mixed in, real nightmare.

derekgibson10d ago

Handled a 1930s colonial last winter where the creosote was so thick I had to chip at it with a hammer and chisel before the brush could even touch it. You ever see any glazed creosote in those old flues?