Teaming up with a Chimney Sweep

[farmer_ben]

A friend of mine has just set up a new chimney sweep business and we are going to have a chat to see if we can work together. As long as he does a good job and I continue to supply quality firewood, I cant see that many negatives....

 

Anyone else have a similar arrangement? Any pitfalls?

 

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[ballibeg]

Folk can be quick to blame the quality of the wood when a flue is bad. My experience is often the cause is a poor chimney (eg not lined) or user error on the stove.

 

Keep hearing of liners disintegrating when being swept and the sweep gets the blame. Usually a combination of poor quality metal corroded by burning of wet wood and coal.

 

Sweeps often are the bearers of bad news to a chimney owner.

 

Dave

[woodrascal]

 

Keep hearing of liners disintegrating when being swept and the sweep gets the blame. Usually a combination of poor quality metal corroded by burning of wet wood and coal.

 

I've heard that from a couple of sweeps too, there are some pretty poor quality liners around - however some sweeps still try to use a standard masonary chimney brush in a SS liner. This is a great way of totally knackering even a decent liner...

 

Make sure they use the right brush for the flue they're sweeping.

[County4x4]

I guess the main thing is that you're sure of each other - as if one of you mucks up - it reflects on the other.

 

I have a stove fitter I always recommend to customers - he's one of many round here. He puts our details on all his installations for sweeping and maintenance work so it works well for both of us. But I was careful in choosing him - he's not the cheapest or the fatest, but he does jobs right. And I've since found out that he spends a lot of time re-installing stoves fitted by another (fully qualified) local fitter. If I'd recommended the second guy, my own reputation would have suffered a lot as a result.

 

Chimney sweeping is one of those trades that has expanded a lot in recent years - and there are just as many dodgy operators as there are in tree work as a lot of people have had a quick look and decided it's easy money for a dead simple job. There's probably a lot more to it than most people would realise. A bad sweep can make a proper mess and leave the customer with a dangerous stove. If your mate has a "My first chimney sweep set" from B&Q and his wife's old Henry - then you need to think carefully. Setting up in business should cost a lot less than establishing an arb business - but with a decent vacuum for the job at over £700 and a single set of rods at over £400, it's not exactly pocket money. Has he had any training or experience?

 

As far as liners go - a lot of customers will see the £20 a metre stuff on ebay and decided the fitter is obviously trying to rip them off as he quoted way more than that. Good fitters won't use crap liner - as they know it'll come back to bite them a few years down the line. Poor fitters don't give a toss - one big company round here fitted a 316 grade liner to a boiler stove that only ever burned smokeless - they should have used 904 grade. Two and a bit years later the liner is in pieces above the register plate - you could have sneexed through the side of it. Company then want to charge the customer to replace it with the wrong stuff for a second time!! Don't know how they sleep at night....

Edited April 10, 2014 by County4x4

[Gyp]

I'm. Guild of master chimney sweep member and like you say it's not pocket money to start up and the training is very in depth. The chimney liner manufactures wont warrant their liners if it's not swept by a Guild sweep or a NACS sweep.

 

If your sweep isn't a member of either of these or doesn't carry £2m insurance I wouldn't let him in my house.

 

I work with our local log supplier and it works really well, it's in my interest that my customers burn good wood so I alway recommend him.

[County4x4]

I'm. Guild of master chimney sweep member and like you say it's not pocket money to start up and the training is very in depth. The chimney liner manufactures wont warrant their liners if it's not swept by a Guild sweep or a NACS sweep.

 

If your sweep isn't a member of either of these or doesn't carry £2m insurance I wouldn't let him in my house.

 

I work with our local log supplier and it works really well, it's in my interest that my customers burn good wood so I alway recommend him.

 

I'd have to say that wouldn't be my experience of warranty jobs.

 

Also, (unfortunately) there's no disputing the fact that GMCS or NACS membership is no more a guarantee of getting a good sweep than HETAS membership is a guarantee of a good installation. I've gone to no end of jobs where sweeps from various trade associations have made a complete balls up, failed to do the job right, condemned (perfectly sound) brand new liners as breached with an incorrect smoke test, left nests in the chimney when fitting a nest guard, condemned perfectly sound chimneys on the sole basis that "I've been to loads round here and they're all knackered" etc etc. I could go on all night.

 

This is why I've never joined a trade association. And having never once been asked whether I am a member of any of them, it seems like there's little to gain except another bill to pay to an office somewhere. In an ideal world of course, membership would actually mean something. Having said that - I would certainly say that sweeps are generally perceived a lot better and more trustworthy than stove fitters by the public.

 

I've always been properly insured (though never had anything even approaching a claim), and always used the proper equipment for the job in question.