Had a seven flue job last Wednesday that went smooth as butter

I showed up to this old Victorian in Cleveland and the homeowner said three sweeps already turned it down. Got up on the roof and every single flue was clean, just needed a quick brush and vac. Each damper worked perfect too, not a single stuck one. Finished the whole thing in under 4 hours including setup and cleanup. Anyone else ever get a big job that turned out way easier than expected?

3 comments

3 Comments

miamitchell27d agoMost Upvoted

Three sweeps already turned it down" is the part that gets me. Were any of those flues hidden behind something or did they just see the seven flues and walk away? I've had homeowners tell me other guys bailed on a job and it's usually because they spotted something tricky. It makes me wonder what those first three sweeps saw that you didn't have to deal with. Was the roof a nightmare to get to or something?

mark_thomas26d ago

Yeah, that's the million dollar question isn't it. Those first three guys didn't turn down easy money for no reason. Bet they saw something from the ground that spooked 'em, like a rotted roof deck or a chimney that was leaning bad. Sometimes it's just a bad layout, flues built too close together so you can't get a brush through. You probably ended up with the job that had all the hidden headaches they knew to run from.

troyreed26d ago

Happens all the time in trades like this. Bad jobs get passed around until someone desperate or dumb enough takes it. Reminds me of how people treat anything hard in life, they just keep kicking it down the road till someone gets stuck with it. Those three sweeps probably smelled the headache from down the block, old creosote buildup, bad access, maybe a roof that's a death trap. You took it and now you're dealing with the mess they dodged. That's just how it goes when nobody wants to be the one to say "I'll handle it.