Rant: Removing old creosote buildup took me 3 hours with a chisel when a rotary tool would have done it in 20 minutes

Was at a house in San Antonio yesterday, 1940s fireplace that clearly hadn't been cleaned in decades. I brought my regular rods and brushes but that creosote was basically rock. Spent almost 3 hours chiseling and scraping, up and down that chimney. Felt like I was mining coal. Buddy called me later and said why didn't I use the small rotary brush attachment for my drill. Had it in my truck the whole time. Anyone else ever overthink a simple job and waste half a day?

3 comments

3 Comments

jessica33113d ago

1940s creosote is basically tar, a rotary tool would just smear that mess around.

cora_west513d ago

So you're saying a hammer drill would actually chip through that rock-hard creosote? I've never tried that, but it sounds like it could work if you used a wide masonry bit on low speed. My experience with rotary tools on thick buildup is they just turn it into a greasy paste that drips back down and hardens again. You'd probably need to vacuum as you go with that method too, which is a whole other mess in itself.

blair99013d ago

Borrowed a buddy's hammer drill once for that. Made a colossal mess but worked great.