Pro tip: that fake brick facade on the house in Lorain doesn't need a full tear out
I was out on a job in Lorain last week and the homeowner had this fake brick siding put up over the old chimney chase back in 2019. Every sweep I know tells folks to rip that stuff off and rebuild, but I looked at it for 20 minutes and it was solid, just dirty. The mortar on the fake brick was still tight, no cracks at the shoulder, and the flue liner was in good shape. I ran my brush, did the standard sweep, and charged her the normal rate instead of the $1,400 tear out the last guy quoted her. Some of you will say I am setting myself up for a callback, but I would rather do honest work than pad a ticket. The thing that got me was how fast everyone jumped to the worst case before anyone even got a camera up the flue. So what do you all do with these retro facades, do you inspect and sweep or do you walk away from the job?