Why does nobody talk about sweeping the smoke shelf on every single job?
A guy with 20 years in the trade rode along with me back in March, and he told me flat out that I was wasting my time brushing the firebox walls while leaving the smoke shelf caked. He said the shelf is where most of the creosote hides on a fireplace, and he's right. I went back to 3 houses I'd done in February and the shelf on each one was loaded with flaky buildup I'd walked right past. Now I hit it first thing with my 6 inch poly brush before I even touch the firebox, and my final inspections look way cleaner. Do you all sweep the shelf on every fireplace job or only when it's bad?