Rant: An old timer told me to stop using fire caulk on every seam and just use a bead of furnace cement instead

I tried it on a 1920s double-flue in St. Paul last week and it dried way harder with no cracks after a test burn - has anyone else had better luck with one over the other on old brick?

2 comments

2 Comments

reese55127d ago

Well, you reckon that old timer might've saved me from my own stubbornness? I used fire caulk on everything for years cause that's what my dad taught me, but I finally tried furnace cement on a similar vintage chimney last fall. It set up so hard I chipped my chisel trying to clean up a drip, no joke. The stuff cracked a little where I put it on too thick, but a thin bead held up through a whole Minnesota winter fine. I think the trick is getting it worked into the joints good instead of just slathering it on like peanut butter. Maybe I'm just a slow learner, but I'm starting to think those old fellas knew a thing or two after all.

luna_wells5727d ago

So you used a thin bead and it held up all winter? How thick was the layer you had to chip off before you figured that out? I'm trying to picture the mess you had if it set up that hard. And did you have to grind it all down or did a chisel actually work?