Our Services
Black Fox chimney sweeping prides itself on being a family run business providing a friendly, high quality chimney sweeping service. We use the very latest equipment and techniques to ensure a thorough, efficient and mess free sweep. With years of experience in the industry, we can tackle anything from a micro wood burning stove in a canal boat through to the largest inglenook fireplace in a stately home.
Chimney sweeping
A modern chimney sweeping appointment is a far cry from the bad old days when your house was covered in soot for days afterwards. Our sweeping method uses the latest in brush, rod and vacuum technology to clean your chimney thoroughly and efficiently keeping control of the falling soot and minimising any mess.
How to prepare for the appointment
- Please clear an area in front of the hearth approximately 3 meters wide by 2 meters deep to allow space in which to work. Some rooms are small and if this space isn’t available don’t worry, we can always work out a way to sweep with the space available.
- Please remove anything that usually lives on the hearth area. Companion sets, candles, ornaments etc.
- Please remove any unburnt fuel from the wood burner or fireplace. Ash is ok, we can clean that away, but our vacuum cleaners can’t cope with logs or coal.
- If you have a wood burning stove please do not strip out the internal fittings.
What to expect during your appointment
- We will lay down a robust sheet approximately 2.5 meters wide in front of the hearth which all the equipment will go on. We’ll make an initial assessment of the chimney to work out what equipment will sweep it most effectively then be back and forth to the van a few times getting set up.
- The fireplace or stove will be sealed with a special sheet that allows access for the brush and vacuum but still keeps the soot contained as it comes down.
- The brush is pushed all the way up the chimney until it comes out of top and is slowly worked back down, sweeping as it goes, until it comes out of the bottom again.
- Most of the fallen soot will have disappeared straight up the vacuum cleaner but any overspill will be cleaned away to leave the fireplace and hearth area spick and span.
After your appointment
- Once the sweep has been completed we will advise you if there are any issues to remedy or any maintenance that needs doing. This is a great opportunity to ask any questions that you might have about your appliance.
- We also take payment for the sweep at the end of the appointment. A contactless card payment is best but we will also accept cash or cheque.
- A sweeping certificate will be issued by email within 48 hours of the appointment being completed.
What types of appliances we can sweep?
Wood burning stoves, Multi fuel stoves, Open Fires, Jetmasters, Tortoises, Inglenooks, Parkrays, Aga and Rayburn cookers, Boilers, Gas fires, Biomass boilers.
Bird nest removal
One particular species of bird, the Jackdaw, loves to nest in chimneys. Most often they choose traditional brick flues, but they will also have a go at ceramic or stainless steel liners.
The nesting birds will fill the chimney with twigs, all the way up to about 2 feet from the top. There they will build their nest and raise their chicks.
Removing a Jackdaw nest is quite similar to sweeping a chimney. The fireplace is sealed up with a sheet and specialist rods and brush attachments are used to break the nest apart. The twig structure and the nest itself fall down the chimney into the fireplace, where they can be cleared away.
When removing a nest, we will also sweep the chimney and look up the flue with a remote camera to ensure all the twigs are gone.
Nest removals cannot be done by law during the nesting season, which is mid-March to mid-August (depending on the weather)
