Flue sweeping - how much?

[JimM169]

Our new house has a log burner in the front room, it was installed 4 years ago but as I've no idea if the flue has ever been swept it's probably sensible to get it done. It appears to be a standard 125mm flue pipe, and looks like it goes straight up with no kinks or bends.

Never had to get a sweep in before so have no idea what is a reasonable price so can you give me some pointers on what I should expect to pay given that I'm based in Notts.

Cheers

[IanCress]

Think I paid £55 to have mine swept last year. Seemed a fair price and it doesn't take long to do.

[Simpo Two]

£40/hr here (Essex) - an hour should be enough.

[vxsmithers]

£40 to £80 seems to be the going rate here depending on how many have to be swept

[RonJohnson]

Think we paid £45 last Feb (Newark area).

[DoubleSix]

Is this an every year without fail thing or....

[IanCress]

DoubleSix said:

Is this an every year without fail thing or....

We were advised to have it done every year. However, we're not particularly heavy users of the woodburner so i'll probably stick to getting it done every other year.

If I start an urgent topic in November asking what to do in the event of a chimney fire then you'll know this was a bad decision.

[blueST]

£50 here in the NW. That included some sort of certificate for the work. I reckon frequency comes down to what and how you burn. Crap wood at a low temp will soot your chimney up much more quickly than a raging hard wood inferno (so to speak).

[DrDoofenshmirtz]

Buy a quality sweeper set and DIY?
It's not as messy as you might think. Do get a good sweeper though. Cheaper ones can snap leaving you with rods stuck up the chimney!.

[DoubleSix]

blueST said:

raging hard wood inferno (so to speak).

Blimey...

[RizzoTheRat]

Just booked a bloke to do mine and he quoted £49/chimney in Aldershot

[blueST]

DoubleSix said:

blueST said:

raging hard wood inferno (so to speak).

Blimey...

Nothing that can't be fixed by a to up your flue...

[pikeyboy]

RonJohnson said:

Think we paid £45 last Feb (Newark area).

Do you mind if I ask who you used? we live near Newark and need ours doing, we have two wood burners, one we use occasionally and one used all the time in the winter.

[Rosscow]

I pay £50 for 2 flues. I'm in East Sussex.

[BFG TERRANO]

£35 in north wilts last year. Don't do it yourself, yes it's easy but if you have a serious chimney fire, proof it's been swept will be needed if you claim for anything.

[Craikeybaby]

£35 in Coventry.

[trickywoo]

Id recommend watching him do the job.

Don't know if its just me but the sweeps I've had have never done a good job. One even decided to burgle me a few days after his visit.

I bought a set of poles and brushes from a junk shop and do it myself now.

[TVR keith]

I used to pay to have it done but got these now, very easy job to do

http://www.toolstation.com/shop/p58372
http://www.toolstation.com/shop/p44934

[Rosscow]

BFG TERRANO said:

£35 in north wilts last year. Don't do it yourself, yes it's easy but if you have a serious chimney fire, proof it's been swept will be needed if you claim for anything.

I agree. My house insurance even stipulates that the chimneys need to be cleaned professionally:

Anyone with an open fire or woodburner should really inform the insurance company that you use solid fuel as a heat source. This may be because my house is timber framed and timber clad, but I'd call your insurance companies and double check just in case.

Wording from my policy:

[Dr Mike Oxgreen]

I always like to check what the deposits look like when the chimney sweep comes. So far it's always been nice dry, ashy grey powder - which means I'm running the stove hot enough to keep the chimney from tarring up. We use our stove a lot - pretty much every day through autumn and winter and well into spring - so I get it done once a year. About £50 here in Woking.