What would a chimney sweep that you/we/me couldn't do ourselves?

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bkatzman

New Member
Nov 7, 2007
61
Upstate NY
Greetings,
Let me start off by saying that I mean no offense to any professional, or non-professional, sweeps. You folks perform a very, very important and sorely-needed service that you do so equipped with knowledge, certifications (in some cases), and equipment that your regular John Q. So-and-So does not have.

With that being said, I have a straight-shot 15 inch or so masonry chimney, with a ceramic flue inside that I have been checking almost weekly, that has less than 1/16 of dull, easy-to-scrape creosote inside it. I have never cleaned a chimney before, but it seems pretty intuitive. Should I give the first-ever cleaning a try on my own (putting out about 80 dollars for the chimney brush or sooteater) or should I have a sweep do it for the first time only (at 140 for a cleaning, no video inspection)?

Just wanted to get people's opinions, experiences...

Thanks
Bryce
 
if you dont mind doing it and can do it safe...go for it.
 
Absolutely nothing wrong with performing the sweep yourself, assuming that you know what your looking at/for.

I personally choose to have a sweep come out every couple of years for a sweep/inspection simply for the reason that it is a second set of trained eyes (my sweep is very reputable), that is inspecting my system. A system that has zero tolerance for failure. The same kind of reason that a bridge that has performed flawlessly for years gets inspected.
 
get a sooteater and do it yourself. I paid last year $125.00, and watch him and could not believe I paid that kind of $ for this.......I got a sooteater and it works great, very easy to use...pull the "T " cap run her up a couple times..DONE. a little vacume job, good to go. I figure now I have saved 250.00-300.00 a yr.
 
I started heating exclusively with wood years ago, and I've always done my own chimney/stovepipe cleaning. It is common sense. It is helpful to take your time; be safe; be thorough.

Some people shudder at the thought of going up onto the roof, it that is necessary in their installation. Others figure there is some mystery to it, or they'll kill their families if they do it themselves. Some don't want to bother, or don't want to bother with the hassle of something like the smoke chamber in a fireplace.

There is plenty of work for sweeps. But if you are even a little handy, you can certainly do it yourself without problem.
 
i just started doing mine myself i bought a 6 inch brush at home depot and 18 ft of poles i take off bottom plate inside of stove and start sweeping all the way up. put plate back on vacuum up and done. ill still have sweep come by next oct and sweep just too look things over and see if he gets anything im missing.
 
If you can do it yourself then I'd do it but I'd still want a sweep to come out to inspect yearly or every other, it all depends how much you burn during the season and how efficiently you burn it. You can always pick their brain and find out the things they look for in a chimney failure.
 
Nothing against reputable chimney sweeps, but i got some very bad advice from one who i will never use again.
I have an insert with liner and sweep it myself. Its really not a big deal, takes 30 minutes and saves me some bucks.
 
Sweeps are like other contractors. They are there to do what you are unable or unwilling to do yourself, for whatever reason. I clean my own chimney because I have a roof without much pitch and a straight shot 28 ft chimney. If I had a roof that I didn't feel comfortable on, I'd be calling a sweep in a heartbeat. Shoot, most of the people in my neighborhood don't mow their own lawns.
 
bkatzman said:
Greetings,
Let me start off by saying that I mean no offense to any professional, or non-professional, sweeps. You folks perform a very, very important and sorely-needed service that you do so equipped with knowledge, certifications (in some cases), and equipment that your regular John Q. So-and-So does not have.

With that being said, I have a straight-shot 15 inch or so masonry chimney, with a ceramic flue inside that I have been checking almost weekly, that has less than 1/16 of dull, easy-to-scrape creosote inside it. I have never cleaned a chimney before, but it seems pretty intuitive. Should I give the first-ever cleaning a try on my own (putting out about 80 dollars for the chimney brush or sooteater) or should I have a sweep do it for the first time only (at 140 for a cleaning, no video inspection)?

Just wanted to get people's opinions, experiences...

Thanks
Bryce

If the roof slope is comfortable for you, and the ladder is long enough to reach passed the lower roofline so it's safe, then be careful and do it. Getting the creosote flakes off the smoke shelf and then out of the firebox would be he hardest and dirtyest parts if you don't have one of their heavy-duty vacuum and long hoses.

I remember last Christmas, two adult men fell while putting Christmas Lights on their house. One was severly injured and the other was paralyzed from the waist down. Then, there was the Christmas Lights joke of a fake falling person that almost got the homeowner tarred and feathered....

Just last Monday, I arranged for my 85 year old Mom to have her 1980's Heatolater fireplace cleaned. The "Chimney Sweep" had been doing his job since 1985. It was the best $80 I've spent for not only the cleaning, but having him check for any safety and fire issues inside the flue and firebox.

Bill
 

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Here in France, we are required to obtain a certificate from a registered chimney sweep, otherwise should we suffer damage as a result of a chimney fire, our insurance won't cover the loss. Having said that, there are sweeps and there are sweeps - I usually do it again myself, just to make sure...
 
whats with taking apart pipe inside the house does anyone here do this? does it have to be done every time? my sweep guy has never taken apart pipe. if im sweeping whole pipe what could get stuck?
 
Thanks for your input as always folks!

I think I will go with the sweep for the very first time, as I haven't had anyone who knows anything about woodstove installations, etc.. in my house since a buddy of mine put my old Cawley Lemay in. Also I had gotten a not so great face cord that I couldn't get high temps using so I may have some creosote in parts that I can physically see.

When I have the sweep out I will watch him/her carefully and pick their brain so that after he or she leaves I will (hopefully) be more knowledgeable and have some sense that the job was done correctly.

In the future I will be doing the chimney (and inside pipe) cleaning myself either with a brush or sooteater.

Happy New Year all. Hope you all stay safe, warm, and afloat in this economy...
Bryce
 
Im scared of heights. Really, though, lots of folks clean themselves. Part of cleaning though is a good inspection of the flue tiles. What I would do is lower a light on an extension cord slowly down the flue to check for cracks once a year.
 
IMHO a homeowner should have a ladder that is long enough to do most routine maintenance. Of course there will be exceptions when it comes to some tall chimneys. I only hired a sweep once when I was selling my former home. We decided it was a definite selling feature to have both a clean chimney and a professional health report. The home was 5 years old and the chimney had never been swept before as I didn't have a 40 foot ladder to reach it. When we told the sweep it hadn't been swept in 5 years he started into us with "the riot act" but try as he may, he couldn't get more than a handful of "dirt" on us. It's amazing how clean a SS flue running up the inside of a house can be when you burn good dry wood in an EPA stove.

Last year I borrowed the neighbor's ladder to clean my flue for the first time in 10 years and couldn't fill a cup with what came out. This year I finally broke down and bought a long sturdy ladder.
 
I've always swept my own chimney and it is not difficult at all. It is not a super difficult job though it can be messy and a bit dangerous. It depends if you are a DIY kind of guy or one with a fat wallet. It also depends on the accessability of your chimney. I have easy access off of my deck with a step ladder and I can walk on my roof as it is a shallow pitch. I also never pay anybody for something that I can do myself.

+1 on the ladder

If you are going to work on your house, you should be able to do it safely. I have a couple of ladders and I use them for things like painting the house, pruning trees, cleaning gutters, pointing the chimney, installing the stove liner, and the list goes on. If you do all of these things, the cost of the ladder can be apportioned to all of the projects and it becomes a very small cost. The same goes for the brushes and rods. After a couple of years of cleaning your chimney, they have paid for themselves and they last virtually forever if you take care of them.
 
I have a Morso 7110, rear vent into T pipe with bottom cap and SS insulated liner 20' straight up.
Can this be swept from the inside working up or does it have to be done from the top down? I have a hard time picturing how to get a brush and handle in from the bottom with only a coule of feet clearance to the chimney floor.

I have a metal roof with a pretty steep pitch that I have no interest in falling off of!
 
So the sweep came by did an okay job from what I can tell.

150 to clean the chimney, 8 feet of flue pipe, and visually inspect the chimney, flue, etc.. The job took about an hour.

Definitely something I can/will be doing in the future. There isn't really much to it. Just need to find a good brush, rods, and whatever needs to be done so that I can use my run-of-the-mill ShopVac to clean up the soot...
 
If the flue has never been cleaned and is a tile liner, get a sweep for the first cleaning at least. A good sweep (and like any other profession, there are good and bad sweeps), will have a trained eye to spot hazards and will know the difference between various stages of creosote and how to remove them. If there are problems, or a flue with an offset that may hide problems, he may have the video equipment to inspect this area. A good sweep is going to be thorough, neat and should provide a knowledgeable assessment of the flue when done.

That said, if you are meticulous, safety conscious and allow enough time to prepare correctly and to stick with the job until it is completed and done well, then by all means go for it.

Side note: I read somewhere that the number one cause of home deaths in adult males is falling off the roof. Be careful.
 
bkatzman said:
So the sweep came by did an okay job from what I can tell.

150 to clean the chimney, 8 feet of flue pipe, and visually inspect the chimney, flue, etc.. The job took about an hour.

Definitely something I can/will be doing in the future. There isn't really much to it. Just need to find a good brush, rods, and whatever needs to be done so that I can use my run-of-the-mill ShopVac to clean up the soot...

As you have read this is a relatively easy chore to do . . . and the initial outlay for the brush or Soot Eater isn't even all that expensive. About the only thing you would get with a reputable chimney sweep is someone who can ID potential problems . . . perhaps more of a problem on an older chimney.

Pretty much all you need for tools is a chimney brush, rods and that's about it . . . maybe a drywall filter for your Shop Vac for cleaning up the mess afterwards.

Good luck.
 
BeGreen said:
. . .Side note: I read somewhere that the number one cause of home deaths in adult males is falling off the roof. Be careful.

Huh . . . I would have thought the number one cause of home deaths for adult males would be telling their wife that the dress she is wearing does in fact make her look fat . . . or something to that effect. ;) :)

And yes, dear hearth.com ladies . . . I am kidding . . . I know my wife always looks good no matter what she is wearing . . .






















. . . after all I want to live for a few more years. ;)
 
did mine to day with the soot eater, took about 45 mins got about a handful of soot and a little bit of black flakes. real easy and not to messy.
 
firefighterjake said:
BeGreen said:
. . .Side note: I read somewhere that the number one cause of home deaths in adult males is falling off the roof. Be careful.

Huh . . . I would have thought the number one cause of home deaths for adult males would be telling their wife that the dress she is wearing does in fact make her look fat . . . or something to that effect. ;) :)

And yes, dear hearth.com ladies . . . I am kidding . . . I know my wife always looks good no matter what she is wearing . . .
. . . after all I want to live for a few more years. ;)

You are a wise man, Jake :)

Attempting the same this weekend. Won't be me up on the roof, but I'll be "manning" the insert.
 
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