Add on service Idea for winter time, Chimney Sweeping anyone?

[Will. C.]

Recently we had a chimney sweep in to sweep 2 of our chimneys for charged £60, (only took 1 Hour to clean 2) apparently typical charge is £50-£65 per chimney with certificates etc, the season starts from September through Feb, with a bit of research you don't need qualifications etc to sweep chimneys,

But I thought what a great idea, when its freezing outside and I cant window clean and pressure washing/roof/render cleaning, because my hoses are frozen, up etc I could be sweeping 5 chimneys a day in the winter and earning decent money, without necessary the need of accessing the roof and chimney pot/cowl etc with power sweeping will speed up the process. Obviously this will be my plan for next year after doing some training courses, range from £450/£2400+ other fees but would like to be fully qualified to be able to certificate for landlords and insurance company's etc. 

As for equipment to get proper kit will set me back £2k/£3k

what do you all think is it a good idea? 

anyone else been a sweep?

 

[Deleted member 7446]

Recently we had a chimney sweep in to sweep 2 of our chimneys for charged £60, (only took 1 Hour to clean 2) apparently typical charge is £50-£65 per chimney with certificates etc, the season starts from September through Feb, with a bit of research you don't need qualifications etc to sweep chimneys,

But I thought what a great idea, when its freezing outside and I cant window clean and pressure washing/roof/render cleaning, because my hoses are frozen, up etc I could be sweeping 5 chimneys a day in the winter and earning decent money, without necessary the need of accessing the roof and chimney pot/cowl etc with power sweeping will speed up the process. Obviously this will be my plan for next year after doing some training courses, range from £450/£2400+ other fees but would like to be fully qualified to be able to certificate for landlords and insurance company's etc. 

As for equipment to get proper kit will set me back £2k/£3k

what do you all think is it a good idea? 

anyone else been a sweep?

It's not as easy as it looks. 

How do you intend to offer certification as its high stakes work.

Fire prevention and liability 

Most chimney sweeps run through generations of a family and you'd need some form of training.

I personally wouldn't even attempt it myself 

Are you wanting to earn a quick buck or start a career?

 

[Will. C.]

It's not as easy as it looks. 

How do you intend to offer certification as its high stakes work.

Fire prevention and liability 

Most chimney sweeps run through generations of a family and you'd need some form of training.

I personally wouldn't even attempt it myself 

Are you wanting to earn a quick buck or start a career?

Hi, there I'm not just looking to make a quick buck but can see this as a long term skill that's perfect to fill in any down time the winter can cause, this is the course I'm looking at as follows; www.guildofmasterchimneysweeps.co.uk/masterful-sweeping inc membership to Hetas which enables you to give out certification I believe. : )

 

[Pjj]

Recently we had a chimney sweep in to sweep 2 of our chimneys for charged £60, (only took 1 Hour to clean 2) apparently typical charge is £50-£65 per chimney with certificates etc, the season starts from September through Feb, with a bit of research you don't need qualifications etc to sweep chimneys,

But I thought what a great idea, when its freezing outside and I cant window clean and pressure washing/roof/render cleaning, because my hoses are frozen, up etc I could be sweeping 5 chimneys a day in the winter and earning decent money, without necessary the need of accessing the roof and chimney pot/cowl etc with power sweeping will speed up the process. Obviously this will be my plan for next year after doing some training courses, range from £450/£2400+ other fees but would like to be fully qualified to be able to certificate for landlords and insurance company's etc. 

As for equipment to get proper kit will set me back £2k/£3k

what do you all think is it a good idea? 

anyone else been a sweep?

Years ago I was a heating engineer fitting gas, oil, and multi fuel stoves , sweeping chimneys is a filthy job , it’s not as easy as you might think , and issuing certificates is ok but you can be opening yourself up to potential problems , if they have a chimney fire after you have swept the flu you could find yourself liable , also chimneys that have stainless liners there’s can rupture and burn through again causing all kinds of problems if you try and sweep them , then there are unlined flues in old cottages that are impossible to sweep properly ,I don’t want to put you off but it’s not as rosey as I think you think it will be , having dine it fir several years I certainly wouldn’t want to go back to it , also when doing flues on mfs you will need to have spare fire bricks , baffles , and door seals and carry an array of tools , taps and dies , drill and bits in a variety of sizes.  Spray cans of paint to the stoves and flue pipes , this is just fir starters , my advice would be think vary carefully before venturing into it it’s not straightforward and the potential it cause damage is quite high without experience. 

 

[ched999uk]

Hi, there I'm not just looking to make a quick buck but can see this as a long term skill that's perfect to fill in any down time the winter can cause, this is the course I'm looking at as follows; www.guildofmasterchimneysweeps.co.uk/masterful-sweeping inc membership to Hetas which enables you to give out certification I believe. : )

The company don't appear to have updated their website. They state that there is a 2% surcharge for credit cards. That was made illegal in Jan 2018!!! https://www.guildofmasterchimneysweeps.co.uk/how-to-join/chimney-sweep-training-course/ Just above the apply bit! 

So do a bit of due diligence on the company.

 

[scottish cleaning service]

Recently we had a chimney sweep in to sweep 2 of our chimneys for charged £60, (only took 1 Hour to clean 2) apparently typical charge is £50-£65 per chimney with certificates etc, the season starts from September through Feb, with a bit of research you don't need qualifications etc to sweep chimneys,

But I thought what a great idea, when its freezing outside and I cant window clean and pressure washing/roof/render cleaning, because my hoses are frozen, up etc I could be sweeping 5 chimneys a day in the winter and earning decent money, without necessary the need of accessing the roof and chimney pot/cowl etc with power sweeping will speed up the process. Obviously this will be my plan for next year after doing some training courses, range from £450/£2400+ other fees but would like to be fully qualified to be able to certificate for landlords and insurance company's etc. 

As for equipment to get proper kit will set me back £2k/£3k

what do you all think is it a good idea? 

anyone else been a sweep?

A Fireman I worked with did it. He was the only one in his area and was working flat out. As he and i are retired now i have notice his van around where i stay so he must be branching out. With all the wood burners getting installed I guess that's how there's so much demand for it now. ?

 

[Mx19]

Deleted my comment because it was to *me me me haha

 

[Dave B]

Recently we had a chimney sweep in to sweep 2 of our chimneys for charged £60, (only took 1 Hour to clean 2) apparently typical charge is £50-£65 per chimney with certificates etc, the season starts from September through Feb, with a bit of research you don't need qualifications etc to sweep chimneys,

But I thought what a great idea, when its freezing outside and I cant window clean and pressure washing/roof/render cleaning, because my hoses are frozen, up etc I could be sweeping 5 chimneys a day in the winter and earning decent money, without necessary the need of accessing the roof and chimney pot/cowl etc with power sweeping will speed up the process. Obviously this will be my plan for next year after doing some training courses, range from £450/£2400+ other fees but would like to be fully qualified to be able to certificate for landlords and insurance company's etc. 

As for equipment to get proper kit will set me back £2k/£3k

what do you all think is it a good idea? 

anyone else been a sweep?

Why can you not window clean when it's cold outside?

Done this since 1991 and the winter has never stopped me whether trad or wfp.

It's not game of thrones.. winter is coming means nothing.

Wrap up and step up.

More money in windows than the other jobs.

Plus you'll lose your regular window customers. 

 

[Will. C.]

Why can you not window clean when it's cold outside?

Done this since 1991 and the winter has never stopped me whether trad or wfp since 7 years ago. 

It's not game of thrones.. winter is coming means nothing.

Wrap up and step up.

More money in windows than the other jobs.

Plus you'll lose your regular window customers. 

oh I can and do clean in the winter, been doing winters for the last 9/10 years ? its pretty hard to clean windows when its bellow 0 and your hoses are frozen from time to time, even doing trad in -5 without gloves some times, all I'm thinking is why not get an add on service that is an indoor service like chimney sweeping or carpet cleaning, maybe to off-set the horrific days when its too windy, or torrential rain. more more feathers in your cap the better I guess...  ? 

And about loosing custom, that's very rare as most people understand and don't expect a window cleaner to be cleaning torrential rain and snow...  and people who drop you because of that aren't worth having, sack em and move on ? 

And I doubt you can get over £350 a day on the glass unless you have an exceptional high-cost tight located round to do on your own.

I did meet a Landscape gardener this month that saves during the year has 2 months of the winter off.... that's the life hey! I said ill see him in Thailand next year then haha

 

[Pjj]

oh I can and do clean in the winter, been doing winters for the last 9/10 years ? its pretty hard to clean windows when its bellow 0 and your hoses are frozen from time to time, even doing trad in -5 without gloves some times, all I'm thinking is why not get an add on service that is an indoor service like chimney sweeping or carpet cleaning, maybe to off-set the horrific days when its too windy, or torrential rain. more more feathers in your cap the better I guess...  ? 

And about loosing custom, that's very rare as most people understand and don't expect a window cleaner to be cleaning torrential rain and snow...  and people who drop you because of that aren't worth having, sack em and move on ? 

And I doubt you can get over £350 a day on the glass unless you have an exceptional high-cost tight located round to do on your own.

I did meet a Landscape gardener this month that saves during the year has 2 months of the winter off.... that's the life hey! I said ill see him in Thailand next year then haha

Ime very surprised you get that much snow and -5 in Dorset we get some cold weather now and then but rarely enough to stop us working , Dorset is usually very similar to our weather we might get a dozen frosts in a bad year and a few days of sub zero temperatures but that’s it the worst last year I remember was 2009 was below freezing for weeks , we did actually take a week off then .

 

[Dave B]

I was tradding in 2011 I think it was when it hit -13 one night here in Hertfordshire. 

Antifreeze and gloves was needed lol.

Had 1 day off all year due to weather this year.

 

[brianbadonde]

A bit late to the party here lol This is something I do alongside window cleaning. I did a 3 day training course with ICS. The course cost me (7 years ago)£600 or thereabouts. To get decent kit you are looking at about £2000 as you need a high standard industrial vacuum with HEPA filter as well as all the kit ie rods, CCTV camera, soot sheets etc.... then insurance which I just added to my window cleaning for not much extra. You will need liability for £5,000,000 for some thatched properties.

What I will say is it can be very well paid work. I charge £50 a pop in my area (south) and I can usually do 8-9 chimneys in a day, occasionally more if there are multiples in a property. There are drawbacks and it isn’t always as easy as you’d imagine eg gaining accesss through access hatches, baffle plates, removing nests etc..... I made a few boo-boos in my early days but you live and learn. My advice is to go for it. During the winter I do a full day per week chimneys, I also do 1 or 2 sweeps in the evenings and also most Saturdays through the winter I’ll work until early afternoon and do 6 sweeps or so.

I recommend you get qualified so you can issue certificates and to go out with an established sweep for a day to learn the ropes.

 

[brianbadonde]

Re-read the bit about not needing qualifications.......correct. Although most customers now ask for a certificate so you would need to tell them before you sweep that this is something you can’t do. As long as they are fine with that then you can carry on, although I wouldn’t imagine you can charge quite as much, in which case you would earn just as much cleaning window’s.