A customer in Flagstaff showed me a trick with a mirror and a phone flashlight

I was doing a standard inspection on a stone fireplace up there last fall. The homeowner, an older guy who used to be a mason, held up a small hand mirror at the bottom of the firebox while I shined my phone light down the flue. He said, 'You get a better angle on the smoke shelf this way, see?' It let me spot a big chunk of fallen tile I would have missed with just the headlamp. I've used that combo on every tricky, shallow fireplace since. Anyone else have a simple tool hack like that for inspections?

2 comments

2 Comments

bell.alice1mo ago

Honestly that's a genius little trick.

samward1mo ago

Yeah, @bell.alice calling it a "genius little trick" really nails it. It's one of those simple moves that just makes life easier, like putting a rubber band around a doorknob so it doesn't latch shut. You don't realize how handy it is until you start using it all the time. It saves that tiny bit of daily hassle that adds up.