Rant: Had to pick between a $200 camera scope and just trusting my brush in a tight Philly flue.

Old brick row house, flue was maybe 8 by 8. Couldn't see a thing past the first bend. Boss wanted me to just run the brush and hope. I bought the scope myself. Found a huge mortar chunk and a bird nest we would have just pushed down. Who else has paid out of pocket for a tool the shop should have?

3 comments

3 Comments

parkerp801mo ago

That bit about betting your time and reputation is spot on. My buddy had a boss who refused to buy a moisture meter for water damage jobs. He ended up tearing out a whole section of drywall that was fine because he was guessing. The real leak was two feet over. Boss still charged the customer for all that extra work.

oliver21mo ago

Good on you for buying the scope. A lot of bosses would rather risk a callback than spend the money. You saved yourself a bigger headache later.

grantschmidt1mo ago

Exactly, @oliver2. I bought a cheap borescope for under a hundred bucks after a nightmare job tracing a drain line. The time you waste guessing where a clog is or what's behind a wall costs way more than the tool. A boss who won't buy one is just betting your time and their reputation to save a few dollars. That scope paid for itself the first time I found a broken pipe inside a finished ceiling without cutting three holes. Now it's the first thing I grab for any hidden problem.