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Hit a hidden mortar joint that took three hours to chip through
I was doing a routine sweep on an old house in Brighton last Tuesday, and everything was going smooth until my brush stopped dead about halfway down the flue. Turns out a previous repair job had left a huge blob of mortar sticking out right at a bend, almost like someone just globbed it in there and forgot. I spent the next three hours trying to chip it out with a hammer and chisel, switching to a rotary tool, then back to manual because the rotary kept binding up. By the time I got it cleared, my arms were shot and I was running two hours late for my next job across town. The homeowner said they never had issues before, but I bet that mortar was hiding behind some creosote buildup for years. Has anyone else run into a hidden block like that and found a quicker way to break it up without wrecking the liner?
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thea6928d ago
Did you try heating it first with a torch to soften the mortar?
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oscar3908d ago
Nope, tried that once and it worked a little too well. Ended up with a glowing orange brick in my driveway and a melted spatula I was using as a heat shield. My mortar is still stuck but now my driveway has a new permanent campfire stain. Guess I’ll just leave the old brick alone and call it a fire feature.
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