DIY Chimney Sweep?

[HandyFrank]

Is this a typical DIY job or one best left to the pro's. Last time I had my chimney sweeped the guy went to the top and pushed the brush down with the rods a few times, came in and scraped around the firebox and vacuumed it all up and was done. He was in such a rush I question if he even swept it enough, not to mention he did a not show on me 2 or 3 times in a row and the time I wasted waiting for him I could have cleaned the thing 5 times over. He had all the credentials, memberships to the chimney sweep association, etc. I was thinking of buying the brush and rods and doing the job myself. Some seasons I burn 10-20 times, other times I may burn less than 5 times.

I have a traditional fireplace with a terracotta flue. The chimney has 2 separate flue's, one for the fireplace, and one for the furnace. My roof isn't too steep so I can get up there no problem with the brush and rods, and I'm not afraid of heights so that isn't an issue. Is this something I can easily do and know its done right, and not have to worry?

I don't have a clean out on my chimney so all the grime will simply fall into the fire box. My plan is to put a light in the bottom so I can see it when I look down the top, tape off the glass door, and then go to the top and brush it until it all looks clean. Then I would plan to go to the fireplace opening and scrape the fire box, and anything around the flue door and whatever I can reach in the chimney from the bottom.

For a vacuum I have a Rigid Wet/Dry vac and my filter said it was suitable for ash, so i'd just vacuum it all up at the end.

Good plan or should I just deal with the pros?

 

[Chuck the Canuck]

Definitely buy the brush/rods and get the job done yerself! You'll feel much better knowing the job was done right, and you'll save some coin into the bargain.....

 

[Excavator]

Definitely buy the brush/rods and get the job done yerself! You'll feel much better knowing the job was done right, and you'll save some coin into the bargain.....

agreed, I have been doing mine since 1988. I am now 61 and have no problem doing my 2 story home. I installed a liner with clean out T and just tie a hefty bag to bottom then brush from top few passes.

 

[HandyFrank]

Thanks for the confidence to do it myself. Anything else I need?
-Brush to fit my flue, i'm thinking a square brush to match my square terracotta flue
-Rods, not sure now many I need but i'll measure and see
-Small hand brush to brush around the firebox and where I can reach into the chimney
-Vacuum with ash filter, which I already have
-Plastic and Tape, to tape up the door so I don't make a cloud of mess and upset the wife

For the brush, do I simply measure my flue side to side? If I had to guess I would say it is a 8" square/rectangle flue.

Anything else I need to do the job right?

 

[Grisu]

You can also get one of those: http://gardusinc.com/sooteater.html Works quite nicely. Make also sure to clean the smoke shelf after the sweeping and check the flue with a flashlight.

 

[Ram 1500 with an axe...]

If you can get up to the top on your own and be able to take your time and do the job and can even do it at your own pace....then it's a no brainer....... Get to work......

 

[Chuck the Canuck]

I have a traditional fireplace with a terracotta flue. The chimney has 2 separate flue's, one for the fireplace, and one for the furnace.

Hmmm, I guess I didn't think about the terracotta flue so much in my 1st reply.

Maybe this kind of flue should be inspected by a pro with a video cam for cracks and such every other year or so? Maybe someone with a bit more knowledge/experience could better address this.

But I'd still get the brushes etc. and sweep the flue myself, just to be self sufficient and to save a few bucks as well.....

 

[Ram 1500 with an axe...]

Yes, what Frank said, but your not really burning too much......

 

[NJ_Burner08002]

Soot eater is great. Used it this past fall. 10 minutes and done. No ladders or roofs.

 

[bholler]

It depends allot on what type of dirt you have open fireplaces can glaze pretty bad sometimes and it that case you probably nee professional tools but if the conditions are good no reason you cant do it yourself. But like said before the smoke shelf and smoke chamber are the hardest part and in my opinion the most important.

 

[Oregon aloha]

I used 1"PVC pipe with my vacuum from the roof down to reach into and clean out my smoke shelf.

 

[Excavator]

I used 1"PVC pipe with my vacuum from the roof down to reach into and clean out my smoke shelf.

how far of a run? must be powerful vacuum i would guess

 

[Oregon aloha]

how far of a run? must be powerful vacuum i would guess

Just my shop vac and maybe 12' to the bottom of the smoke shelf. Ash doesn't weigh anything. sucked up easily.

 

[Excavator]

Just my shop vac and maybe 12' to the bottom of the smoke shelf. Ash doesn't weigh anything. sucked up easily.

I always made a mess when cleaning the smoke shelf until I installed the liner and clean out T
I used to have just the old slammer method for my stove but now code requires a liner and it makes the stove work better as well

 

[Oregon aloha]

I always made a mess when cleaning the smoke shelf until I installed the liner and clean out T
I used to have just the old slammer method for my stove but now code requires a liner and it makes the stove work better as well

Ya that was me too. Sweeping a liner is cake compared with pulling the slammer insert out to clean and sweep the whole chimney.

 

[not on the rug]

we all ditched using rods years ago and started using a rope with a carabiner on it instead. 1 person on the roof and one at the bottom of the chimney. take the bottom of the T off. top person lowers the rope/carabiner down. bottom person clips the brush on, inserts the brush in to the flue, then tapes the bag on to the T. top person pulls the brush up. then it gets to the top, unclip the brush and toss it back down. bottom person comes outside, retrieves the brush and you start the process over. 2-3 passes a couple times per year and that's all you need if you're burning properly. no expensive equipment, no poles to mess with, etc

 

[ColdNH]

we all ditched using rods years ago and started using a rope with a carabiner on it instead. 1 person on the roof and one at the bottom of the chimney. take the bottom of the T off. top person lowers the rope/carabiner down. bottom person clips the brush on, inserts the brush in to the flue, then tapes the bag on to the T. top person pulls the brush up. then it gets to the top, unclip the brush and toss it back down. bottom person comes outside, retrieves the brush and you start the process over. 2-3 passes a couple times per year and that's all you need if you're burning properly. no expensive equipment, no poles to mess with, etc

honestly that sounds like way more work. but it is interesting to hear different methods that work for different people.

To the OP, i just cleaned my chimney for the first time this october after burning for 6 years and paying for a chimney sweep each year. It was the easiest 130$ i have ever saved and its nice to be able to do clean the chimney whenever you want as well. With that said i have a fairly flat roof and a liner so its nothing to complicated. I professional sweep every 5 years or so may still be a good idea just so they can inspect it.

 

[Excavator]

we all ditched using rods years ago and started using a rope with a carabiner on it instead. 1 person on the roof and one at the bottom of the chimney. take the bottom of the T off. top person lowers the rope/carabiner down. bottom person clips the brush on, inserts the brush in to the flue, then tapes the bag on to the T. top person pulls the brush up. then it gets to the top, unclip the brush and toss it back down. bottom person comes outside, retrieves the brush and you start the process over. 2-3 passes a couple times per year and that's all you need if you're burning properly. no expensive equipment, no poles to mess with, etc

Any time I depend on a second person I get the job done before they show up so I just use the rods from roof and tie bag to bottom

 

[Nick Mystic]

For everyone talking about a T-connector you should note that the OP mentions he has a traditional fireplace with a clay tile liner. It doesn't sound like he has a SS flex liner as with a woodstove.

 

[Excavator]

yep saw that and he has smoke shelf to clean as well

 

[not on the rug]

Any time I depend on a second person I get the job done before they show up so I just use the rods from roof and tie bag to bottom

oh man... I totally hear that. my wife is extraordinarily helpful, so she is usually the second person. but if I have a job where I have to depend on someone else, I usually have it 90% done before anyone else shows up. reliable help is definitely hard to find. my brother is the absolute worst for this stuff. he is always at least 1 hour late for whatever he does, and needs to take breaks every 5 minutes .

as for the rope vs pole method, for me, I think the rope is way easier and less time consuming and more manageable. I truly only need to get on the roof once or maybe twice per year anyway. my setup burns super clean. last year we ran short on wood and had to grab an extra cord of wood from a local seller in February. well, the wood was beautiful red and white oak, perfect in every way...except it needed to season for 3 years. I had no choice but to burn it. I split each piece in half and burned as usual. I jumped up on the roof a month later and the flue was pristine. when the season ended and the spring came, I jumped up and ran the brush 4-5 times. for maybe a quart of dry white stuff. nothing nasty at all. I couldn't believe how clean it burned that wood.

so when I have properly seasoned wood, this setup burns like a dream