Picking a Chimney Sweep

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ct01r

Member
Nov 10, 2018
73
Eastern Pa.
What does one look for in a sweep? Is there a certification process (at least in Pa)? We lost our sweep; good guy, too. He'd do normal chimney work, installed our cap, fixed flashing, etc.

If anyone has someone they can recommend, PM me. I hesitate gong on craigslist or other online sites to pick one out of the blue. Thanks! Curt
 
ct01r said:
What does one look for in a sweep? Is there a certification process (at least in Pa)? We lost our sweep; good guy, too. He'd do normal chimney work, installed our cap, fixed flashing, etc.

If anyone has someone they can recommend, PM me. I hesitate gong on craigslist or other online sites to pick one out of the blue. Thanks! Curt
Click to expand...
PA guild of professional sweeps. Who was your sweep?
 
I think it was Knight Chimney Service (or something like that). He was out of Oley; he moved awhile back, and I've used him since then, but can't find him now. Heaven forbid I do something smart, like get a business card from the companies I like! Thanks for asnswering so quickly! Curt
 
Certifications to look for are CSIA Chimney Safety Institute of America, F.I.R.E., Fireplace Investigation Research and Education, and NFI (National Fireplace Instritute). These organizations have different levels of certifications for technicians, inspectors, designers/planners, etc.

Professional organizations are NFPA, NCSG (National Chimney Sweep Guild) and the one mentioned above.

As with almost all types of contracting work, referrals are the best way to vet.
 
We had a company we liked the first time they came out. Got on the roof to clean up the cap, swept everything out, cleaned the glass and stove until it sparkled. Second year, they tried to clean everything from the bottom up, and left enough gunk in the cap we had major draw problems. Third year we had a different company that did it all bottom up, didn't shine up the stove, and the cap caught on fire with fist sized chunks of creosote last month.

Since the cap has to come off for a proper cleaning anyway, and I don't like paying people to do it wrong, I just rented a man lift and did it myself.
 

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David.Ervin said:
We had a company we liked the first time they came out. Got on the roof to clean up the cap, swept everything out, cleaned the glass and stove until it sparkled. Second year, they tried to clean everything from the bottom up, and left enough gunk in the cap we had major draw problems. Third year we had a different company that did it all bottom up, didn't shine up the stove, and the cap caught on fire with fist sized chunks of creosote last month.

Since the cap has to come off for a proper cleaning anyway, and I don't like paying people to do it wrong, I just rented a man lift and did it myself.
Click to expand...
The cap can be cleaned properly from the ground with rotary cleaners. But if you have fist sized chunks of creosote up there that won't work. But there is also something very wrong if you are getting tgat
 
David.Ervin said:
We had a company we liked the first time they came out. Got on the roof to clean up the cap, swept everything out, cleaned the glass and stove until it sparkled. Second year, they tried to clean everything from the bottom up, and left enough gunk in the cap we had major draw problems. Third year we had a different company that did it all bottom up, didn't shine up the stove, and the cap caught on fire with fist sized chunks of creosote last month.

Since the cap has to come off for a proper cleaning anyway, and I don't like paying people to do it wrong, I just rented a man lift and did it myself.
Click to expand...
Bet that wasn't cheap!
 
I have founds sweeps in my area to be all over the map in my area in regard to quality of work and diligence. A good start might be to ask them if they insulate liners that go in masonry chimneys. If the say it’s unneeded, get another sweep. In my area, many if the stove shops don’t insulate as a regular thing. I went with my current sweep, bc they view it as needed per the listing of the liner. Works for me.
 
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HomeinPA said:
Bet that wasn't cheap!
Click to expand...

The rental cost of the lift was less than half of the charge from both bad sweeps (I have two flues in that same brick chase). And I got to clean my gutters while I had it!
 
Please let me know if you find a good one, ct01r. I’m in your neighborhood, and also lost mine a year or two ago, he retired. I’m not all that far from Oley, but would not recommend the company I’ve used the last two years.

My chimney is, well... a bit of a challenge. My old sweep told me this one used to keep him up at night for a week, leading up to any major service job on it. It is quite high, on a very steep steel roof.
 
Thanks for all the responses! I hope to find someone this coming week while I'm off. Ashful, I'll keep you in mind. Thanks again to all! Curt
 
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