Chimney Cleaning near you

Approved Document J is the England guidance for combustion appliances and fuel storage systems, in its 2010 edition with 2010, 2013 and 2022 amendments, the last of which applied from 1 October 2022. It covers the air supply, the discharge of products of combustion, protection of the building, and the provision of information for hearths, fireplaces, flues and chimneys.

Several of its provisions exist purely so that a sweep can do the job. Paragraph 1.49 says provisions should be made to enable flues to be swept and inspected, and gives a way of achieving that: limiting the number of changes of direction between the appliance outlet and the flue outlet to no more than four, each of up to 45 degrees, with no more than two of those between an intended point of access for sweeping and either another point of access or the flue outlet, treating a 90 degree factory-made bend, elbow or tee as equal to two 45 degree bends. Paragraph 1.50 allows a flue to have openings into more than one room or space only for inspection or cleaning, or for fitting an explosion door, draught break, stabiliser or diverter. Paragraph 1.51 requires cleaning openings to be purpose-made components that allow easy passage of the sweeping brush, with covers as gas-tight and as insulated as the flue itself, and says that after the appliance has been installed it should be possible to sweep the whole flue.

Requirement J5 is the one that helps you as an owner: where a hearth, fireplace, flue or chimney is provided or extended, a durable notice containing information on its performance capabilities must be fixed in a suitable place in the building so that appliances can be safely installed. The checklist in the Approved Document's appendix shows what such a notice records, including the provision for cleaning and the recommended frequency — for example, sweep annually via the fireplace opening, or via the base of a tee. If your house has one, find it before booking a sweep. Approved Document J applies in England; Scotland and Northern Ireland use their own documents.

Requirement J3 of the building regulations in England is short: where a fixed combustion appliance is provided, appropriate provision must be made to detect and give warning of the release of carbon monoxide. The guidance supporting it for solid fuel came in with the 2010 edition and was extended to gas and oil burning appliances by the 2022 amendments.

For solid fuel the guidance is specific. Paragraph 2.34 says that where a new or replacement fixed solid fuel appliance is installed in a dwelling, a carbon monoxide alarm should be provided in the room where the appliance is located. Paragraph 2.35 says alarms should comply with BS EN 50291-1:2018 and be powered by a battery designed to operate for the working life of the alarm, incorporating a warning device to alert users when that working life is due to pass, with mains-powered fixed-wiring Type A alarms acceptable as an alternative provided they have a sensor failure warning device. Paragraph 2.36 puts the alarm in the same room as the appliance: on the ceiling at least 300 millimetres from any wall, or if wall-mounted then as high as possible above doors and windows but not within 150 millimetres of the ceiling, and between 1 and 3 metres horizontally from the appliance.

The Approved Document then adds the sentence that matters most: the provision of a carbon monoxide alarm should not be regarded as a substitute for the correct installation and regular servicing of combustion appliances. HETAS says the same thing from the other side — fit an audible alarm conforming to BS EN 50291 positioned in accordance with Approved Document J, test it in accordance with the manufacturer's instructions, and do not treat it as a replacement for regular maintenance of the appliance and the chimney. Separate rules apply to alarms in rented housing in England, and other guides on this site deal with those.

Sweeping itself is maintenance and is not building work, so no approval is involved. The line is crossed when the installation is altered: fitting or replacing an appliance, lining a flue, forming or altering a hearth, or bringing a disused flue back into service. Those engage Part J in England, and other guides on this site set out the two routes for getting that work approved and why the certificates matter when you come to sell.

Approved Document J's appendix describes how a flue's condition should be checked before it is brought back into use, and sweeping is step one of that: sweeping cleans the flue to demonstrate it is essentially free from obstructions and to allow better visual inspection and testing, with tar deposits from burning wood singled out as especially hard to dislodge and needing removal. Step two is a visual inspection of accessible parts to identify deterioration in the structure, connections or linings that could affect gas-tightness, examining the interior of the flue and the exterior of the chimney including in the roof space, with smoke or tar staining on the outside of a chimney treated as evidence.

Two further things sit outside this guide. In a smoke control area there are rules about what you may burn and in what appliance, which are covered elsewhere on this site. And where the chimney stack itself is in poor condition — perished pointing, cracked flaunching, a missing damp-proof tray — that is masonry repair rather than sweeping, and it is the usual reason a stack leaks even though the sweep says the flue is clear.

Sweeping is priced on the flue and on what else is being done. The variables are how many flues are being swept on the visit, the appliance type and how much has to be dismantled to reach the flue, the height and configuration of the chimney and how many changes of direction it has, what fuel has been burned and therefore whether deposits are soot or tar, whether a smoke or spillage test and a certificate are included, whether a bird guard or cowl is being fitted, and how long it has been since the flue was last done. A first sweep after years of neglect is a different visit from an annual one.

LokalMatch simply puts the job in front of sweeps. Say once, with your postcode, what the appliance is, what you burn and when it was last swept, and sweeps covering your area contact you. Homeowners pay nothing for posting the request; the pros pay for the requests they receive. LokalMatch does not sweep chimneys, does not set prices and does not vet, rank or recommend anyone, so asking which scheme a sweep belongs to and whether a certificate of sweeping is issued is a check that stays with you.