A 30-year sweep in Cleveland warned me to check the flue tile before quoting a reline, and he was dead on
I quoted a customer in Lakewood $1,800 for a stainless liner last month without running a camera first, because the firebox looked clean from the top. The old timer from my local guild meeting said always scope the flue before you put a number on paper, and sure enough the camera showed two cracked tiles and a chunk of mortar sitting on the smoke shelf. How do you all handle pricing when you find damage after you have already given the customer a firm quote?
A buddy of mine did the same thing, quoted firm off a clean-looking firebox, then pulled three cracked tiles and a pile of junk off the smoke shelf two weeks later. He ate the extra cost himself since he had already put it in writing, and now he scopes every job before the number leaves his mouth. If there's real extra damage you just have to call the customer, show them the pics, and let them decide how to pay for it.