Loading…
17
An old sweep in Portland told my brush was 'polite' and I still think about it
About 6 months ago I was doing a job in an old house out in Portland and a retired sweep named Walt came by to watch. He had been in the trade around 40 years and he just stood there while I ran my 8 inch brush up a flue that had not been touched in maybe a decade. When I pulled it back out he looked at the bristles and said 'son, your brush is being polite to that creosote.' I laughed it off at first but then he showed me what he meant. The way I was going up slow and easy was just smoothing the top layer of glaze instead of breaking it up. He had me switch to a whip and go at it hard in short strokes and the stuff came off in chunks the size of my palm. I had been sweeping that way for 2 years and nobody ever said anything. Now I think about that comment on almost every job. Has anyone else had an old timer point out something so simple that it made you rethink how you work?
0 comments
Log in to join the discussion
Log In0 Comments
No comments yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this discussion.