WIBU to not get my chimney swept?

[keepyertrapshut]

(Not a euphemism!)

We have an open fire in the living room. Last had it swept in December 2020. Only used it 10 - 15 times since then. We can’t get the chimney swept until late January due to us being disorganised and availability. Would it be very dangerous to use the chimney a few times over Christmas? It’s hard to tell how serious this would be online as we use our chimney so rarely.

It’s not ‘definitely a requirement for house insurance purposes’. It’s not even a question on our house insurance application.

It depends. If you have non standard construction twice a year is a common requirement. But proper maintenance is a normal requirement and that could be questioned if you have a chimney fire and can't demonstrate the chimney has-been swept.

Does anyone know if chimney sweeping for log burners is the same, ie yearly sweeps? We've only just had it installed and never had a sweeper here as our chimney was 4ft wide and we could see by looking up that it was clear, but now we have a log burner I'd like to keep a check on it.

We sweep our chimney yearly. Got the brushes that go on an electric drill and keep going until we see it emerge from the top. I'm looking forward to doing it tomorrow!

NB I do echo regular sweeps. In my old house I had a sweeper come after I recently bought it and was getting a lot of smoke, and he found crows nest after crows nest all on top of one another. I had SO many little sticks on the dining room floor afterwards!!

Best to do yearly - until you get used to your burner. Please only use seasoned wood in your burner and don't use it as a disposal for household rubbish as that dramatically impacts on the detritus that forms in the chimney.

Also, we did get a pigeon in our bedroom fireplace recently. It had been stuck there for two days and we got it checked out at our local wildlife rescue centre but luckily it was ok, even after a clumsy flight around our bedroom. Although in that circumstance it had accidentally fallen in rather than looking to make a nest.

Best to do yearly - until you get used to your burner. Please only use seasoned wood in your burner and don't use it as a disposal for household rubbish as that dramatically impacts on the detritus that forms in the chimney.
Thank you, yes I'll get it checked out. We're meticulous about the wood - we have a lot from our own tree pruning and keep it dry stored for two years or so before using. And never put anything else in - apart from anything else it would create much more ash!

Check your house insurance. Some have clauses that state the chimney must be swept every year. Being disorganised with a safety issue really isn't a good place to be in.

We live in a terraced Victorian house and it has occurred to me that some neighbours may try and reopen their fireplaces. None have been used for real fires for many years and I doubt the neighbours have any experience or knowledge of chimneys...............😣

He gives you a certificate? well, that won't be much good if the house goes up in smoke,
my grandmother used to deliberately send a burning piece of newspaper up to start a chimney fire to get rid of teh soot! We had one by accident which was quite scary, it makes knd of a roaring noise, but it didn't last long and did clear it out

Not unreasonable at all. If you don't mind your house burning to the ground that is.

genuine question- how does the fire get out of a brick chimney breast

Our insurance stipulates that if an open fire or log or multi fuel stove is used, a certificate from a chimney sweep must be obtained in case of fire. The chimney sweep certificate only guarantees the chimney for one year, and advises that the chimney may require 6 monthly sweeps if used heavily.

So check your insurance policy as they do vary. But it is always wise to get it swept annually incase of liner damage, chimney deterioration, birds nesting/dying and rodents.

Bricks and mortar can have gaps. Chimney breasts get very hot if there is a chimney fire and combustible material nearby can self ignite. - eg, timber construction in the building, thatch roofs, materials stored in lofts, wall paper, floor joists to name a few.

@realmsofglory keep important documents in a fire proof safe.

Same here, shamefully. We’ve had ours ten years and only had it swept once (when it was a year old!). We have a log burner though, and as you say it would get burned up within the flue. I must arrange to get it done though!

Log burners with their own flue can still get blocked with deposits. The previous owners of our house hadn’t had the flue swept for two years as it was a new installation - we had it sowers as soon as we moved in and the clinker that came down was something to behold. The sweep had to give the some welly with his power drill brush. They still should be swept annually.
(having lived on a boat with very short flues on multi fuel burners by comparison, these are ideally swept (diy) monthly, and get clogged easily within 6 months of use. So we get off lightly with an annually sweep in a house.)

We only got a certificate from a sweep recently, but two or three years ago there was a lot of publicity about people setting their thatch ablaze with chimney fires so maybe it is a thing now.

We have an open fire and a log burner, both are swept and safety inspected each year. Both have carbon monoxide monitors and in some houses you should have CO2 monitors in every room. E.G if your bedroom is above a room with an open fire, the chimney will run through the bedroom. If there are small cracks in the chimney mortar, co2 can leak into the bedroom.

The flue for the woodburner can become thin with the heat so needs checked by a specialist.

You need to treat them like your gas boiler, get it serviced every year, it's not worth the risk.

He will have a copy. My DH keeps them for 2 years.

We sweep our own - I had no idea it would void my home insurance 😞

I have just had my chimney swept and was issued with the certificate. I asked about the need to be able to produce this if needed for insurance and the sweep said it is an urban myth in most instances. There are requirements for certification in thatched Cottages but not your average house, I didn't actually look at my insurance details to check.

Ours too.

It may not, insurance companies vary on their small print! Always wise to spend an hour reading it. The certificate acts like a receipt to say you’ve had it cleaned - in my experience, insurance companies will use anything to try and wheedle out or cut a payout when you claim. (Big old cynic that I am!)