About Press Releases The Shoe Horn
The Shoe Horn
SNEWS, November 2004, pg. 34
Article and photos by Aaron Zambrana
A to Z Chimney Sweeping
Antelope, CA
View the actual PDF article here
I wish I could take credit for this trick, but I can’t. This little nugget was handed down to me from Mr. Scott Swanson (ChimChimney, Sacramento, CA), a worth competitor of mine and a great friend. Ever since he shared this tip with me, I’ve put it to good use. In fact, I refuse to reline a chimney without this step. I call it “The Shoe Horn.”
When relining a masonry chimney using a flexible liner with a ceramic blanket insulation and armor mesh, one of the biggest frustrations can be getting the #@!%$^^& liner down the chimney! Been there? Done that? Mortar snots inside the chimney’s chase, offsets, or simply a tight fit are all enough to give “fits” to a poor slob who just wants to go home.
So here is the ticket: after removing the flue tiles, and before dropping the liner down the chimney, drop sheets of aluminum or light gauge galvanized steel down the inner sides of the chimney’s chase and secure them in position with duct tape around the top of the outside of the chase. Use the sheets of metal to line the inner sides of chase that will give the liner the most trouble during its descent – for example, the narrowest sides if the chase is rectangular.
With the two strips of sheet metal dangling down along the insides of the chimney and secured at the top with duct tape, you are now ready to slide the flexible liner down the chimney. One word of caution: HOLD ON! Sometimes the liner slips down so easily, it will fall down if you don’t keep a firm grip. Yes, it works that well.
Once your liner is where you want it to be, remove the metal strips.
So, if you have ever had trouble getting a liner down a chimney, run down to your local Home Depot and buy a couple of rolls of aluminum sheet metal to help you with your plight. You can find the stuff in the roofing section and they come in various lengths and widths.
I don’t reline chimneys without the Shoe Horn trick. Regardless of how easy I think the liner may drop, I place the sheet metal down the chimney to avoid any potential “snags” in my plans to get home for dinner.
Testimonials
Dear A to Z Chimney
I just wanted to thank you from the bottom of my heart for the great service you have done for me. I am an avid wood burner and love to burn my fires just about every evening. There’s nothing like the simple pleasure of curling up next to a warm and cozy fire during those cold winter nights.
Unfortunately, I had a chimney fire which did extensive damage to my chimney and it had to be re-lined with a new Stainless Steel Liner.
Last year, I hired a different company to come out and sweep my chimney. The sweep from that company tried to use high pressure sales tactics to get me to do the repairs. His poor attitude and high pressure turned me off so badly that I decided not to have them do the work.
This year, I hired your company and Chris Donovan was such a gentleman! He gave me the same bad news, but this time I could see it with my own eyes on the screen as he video scanned my flue. He was also much more knowledgeable and informative and really took the time to help me understand. He did not talk condescendingly, and there was no pressure whatsoever.
Consequently, I did hire your company to come back and complete the needed repairs, and was absolutely delighted!! Not only did Chris come back, but Aaron, the owner came, as well. I was delighted to know that the owner was personally seeing to the work. In the process of repairing my chimney, some other minor problems were detected, and they fixed them at no additional charge!
In addition, when everything was done, they did a spectacular job cleaning up every bit of their mess, and I couldn’t even tell they had been here.
Thanks again for the great service you provide! I will use you again and again, and refer you to my friends.
Sincerely,
Beverly Bland
Carmichael, CA