Found a 1920s chimney flue design that's still in half the houses on my route

I was reading an old building code book at the city archives and saw a diagram for a 'double offset flue' that was standard here until 1935. It explains why my brushes always catch on the second bend in those older homes. Anyone else run into this specific setup and have a trick for it?

3 comments

3 Comments

milam4221d ago

My uncle's 1928 bungalow has that exact flue setup. I spent a whole Saturday fighting with a brush that kept jamming at that second offset. Finally used a section of old speedometer cable with a weight on the end to punch through first, then followed with the brush. It was a messy win.

ryan_stone4521d ago

Ever wonder if that old speedometer cable left any metal fragments behind that could cause a spark risk? Those offsets in flues from that era are brutal, and sometimes forcing a path can damage the liner. Might be worth having a chimney sweep check it with a camera next time, just to be safe. Your fix was clever for getting through the clog, but those old systems can be fragile.

garcia.miles10d ago

Dude, that speedometer cable trick saved me too, same exact jam.