Flue
A chimney sweep in a dark jacket on a tiled roof, feeding a coiled rod into a steel flue.

One sweep, one van, since 2011

Your chimney swept from the fireplace, with a dust sheet down and a vacuum running, and a signed certificate on the mantelpiece before we drive away.

A roof ladder hooked over the ridge of a dark tiled roof, beside a stone chimney stack.
We only go on the roof when the brush can't do it from below. About one house in ten.

Prices

Fixed per flue, not per hour. The price covers the drive anywhere within twenty miles of the yard, and the certificate.

Sweeping

Open fire£65

Wood burner or multi-fuel£70

Second flue, same house£40

Aga or range cooker£85

Extras

Bird's nest removed£40

Cowl or bird guard fittedfrom £75

Camera up the flue£50

Nothing extra for

The smoke testincluded

Taking the soot awayincluded

What is on the certificate A pale stone chimney stack with a row of clay pots, lit by a low evening sun.

“You won't find a speck of soot on the carpet” is a promise we have kept on roughly four thousand carpets, and we'd like to keep it on yours.

If we ever break it, the sweep is free and we pay for the cleaning

A black wood burner burning in a brick fireplace, logs stacked either side.
A stove in an old fireplace: swept through the stove, usually.
An old green enamel stove in a wooden room, a brass kettle on the top.
Old stoves are welcome. We've seen most of them.
A small black stove with a tall flue in a pale timber cabin, the fire lit.
Cabins and garden rooms too, if the van can get close.

The certificate

One sheet, signed and dated, left on the mantelpiece. Insurers ask for it, landlords need it every year, and it tells the next sweep what we found. These are the six lines on it.

  1. Swept, and howBrush from below, from the top, or both, and how many rods it took.
  2. What came downSoot, tar or a nest, and roughly how much. A bucket is normal; three is not.
  3. The smoke testA smoke pellet in the grate. We watch it leave the pot and check nothing comes out where it shouldn't.
  4. The drawGood, slow or poor, with the likely reason if it isn't good.
  5. Anything to watchA cracked liner, loose pots, a missing cowl. Written down, not sold to you on the doorstep.
  6. When to call againOnce a year for most houses; twice if you burn wood every day through the winter.
A black stove with the fire lit in a brick-lined room, logs piled on the hearth. An arched red-brick chimney pot on an old clay-tiled roof against a bright blue sky. A bright living room with a mustard armchair beside a small black stove and a tall window.
White smoke rising from a brick chimney into a dark evening sky, trees behind.

Before we come

Let the fire go out
The night before, please. A warm grate is fine; embers are not, and we'll have to come back another day.
Clear the hearth
About two metres in front of the fireplace, for the sheet and the vacuum. We'll move a chair; we won't move a piano.
How long
Forty-five minutes for most flues, an hour and a half for a range cooker. We give a two-hour window and ring when we're twenty minutes away.
Nesting birds
Between March and August we can't remove an active nest; it's the law, not us. We'll look, tell you, and book you in for September.
Gas and oil
We sweep solid-fuel flues only. For gas fires and boilers you need a registered gas engineer, and we'll give you a name.
Paying
Card or bank transfer on the day, with the certificate. No deposits, and no charge if you cancel before eight in the morning.