Chimney Sweeping.

[Pattree]

Has anyone here swept a domestic chimney flu?

I’m happy using draining rods in a drain. I have to clear ours almost annually as there is a kink about ten metres in. I know to keep twisting clockwise.

But

I’m about to sweep our chimneys for the first time as our old sweep has retired.

We have crown tops on the pots above the stacks.
Both pots and stacks were re-pointed and haunched two years ago so the structure should be secure.

What might I have to look out for?

 

[Broch]

A mess!
I've only done it once - straight lined flue, so as easy as it can get - but I still managed to make a mess. Leave plenty of time for everything to settle before removing the sheet.

 

[Glow_worm]

Better than a fabric sheet is a sheet of scrap ply or similar- especially if you can fix it in position properly. One hole in it for the rods to pass through, another for the nozzle of a vacuum cleaner....

No mess!

 

[oldtimer]

Can you give yourself a certificate like the qualified and accredited sweeps do?

 

[Pattree]

Well it looks as if I shall have to do exactly that for the insurance company.

I shall document the process and hope.

The call out cost for the nearest accredited sweep is a none starter.

 

[slowworm]

What might I have to look out for?

The sound of a pot smashing?

Ours is a simple job as there's an external door on the chimney and the pot is not capped.

Modern rods are far more flexible that old cane rods, worth using if your chimney has a few bends.

 

[British Red]

Is it a straight old fashioned chimney or a lined flue for a woodburner? Different tools required

 

[Pattree]

Brick flu circa 1928.
It has the usual bend to accelerate the flow.
The pots are ceramic and about two feet tall with points like a crown.

I’ll be using a modern soft bristle brush with a boss which is rounded above and below.
I’m hoping that the brush can hold the rods central in the flu as it goes up and down and that the rounded boss won’t catch in the brown.

Broch is right. It’s going to be all patience and no panic!