Spent 4 hours fighting a fly ash clump that should have taken 20 minutes

Had a routine chimney cleaning last Tuesday on a house off Maple Street. Everything was going fine until I hit a massive fly ash clump halfway down the flue that was cemented in with creosote. I tried the rods, then a rotary tool, then had to climb up on the roof and drop a weighted chain down three times before it finally broke free. Has anyone else dealt with a stuck clump that just refuses to budge?

4 comments

4 Comments

emma_jones19d ago

Straight up, sounds like you had moisture getting in and creating that cement mix. Check the chimney crown for cracks and the flashing where it meets the roof, that's usually the culprit. Next time hit it with a shop vac first to pull out any loose stuff before you go in with the chain, saves some headache.

luna26119d ago

Wait, you're telling me you actually went through the whole job without checking that first? That's wild, I wouldve been so mad if I got all the way up there and found that mess without checking the cap first lol. The moisture really does turn that stuff into concrete, Ive seen it turn into some seriously nasty stuff that takes forever to chip out. Did you end up having to chip away at it for hours or did the chain actually bust through it pretty quick?

brooke_murray19d ago

Oh man, that sounds like a total nightmare. Your mileage may vary but I've definitely had those moments where you just want to throw the rods off the roof and call it a day. At least you didn't end up with a chain stuck up there too, that would've been my luck.

waderamirez19d ago

Man, that fly ash and creosote mix is brutal when it bakes on in the flue... Did you happen to check if the chimney cap was damaged or missing before you started? That kind of hard-packed clump usually means moisture got in there somehow and turned everything into cement. I've seen it happen more on older houses where the flashing is loose or the crown is cracked. Might be worth taking another look up there once you're done cleaning just to make sure water isn't getting in somewhere.