J Bird Chimney Sweep

We are a family team consisting of Chris, Sam and Dan on the tools and Lucy helping out with the admin.

Chris started chimney sweeping in 1987, building the business from a Saturday morning job to a six day a week business. Over the years, the business has developed from just chimney sweeping to all aspects of chimney and fireplace care. We can now take on virtually every aspect of chimney work.

Sam became a fully trained chimney sweep in 2015 after 4 years of ‘on the job’ training and successfully completing NACS and HETAS training courses.

Dan started with us in 2018. He’s a qualified electrician, but wanted to get into the family business. He’s completed his ‘on the job’ training as well as his HETAS training courses.​

Lucy has just started with us and is helping out with all the admin, phone calls and appointments.

For the past few years, we have been working as a two van team for all the work that we do. Now that Dan is fully trained, we work out of three vans allowing us to clean chimneys in different areas on the same day. We can keep the time that you have to wait to get your chimney swept to a minimum and can normally get your chimney swept within a couple of weeks of your initial enquiry, even at the busiest time of year.

Chimney Sweeping – £50.00 inc vat

This covers all chimney sweeping. We don’t charge more for tall or large chimneys or for removing birds’ nests. Stoves, cookers, boilers and open fires all cost the same to sweep. When we clean the fire, we make sure everything is in good working order. We vacuum up all the soot that we remove from the chimney and take it away. As wood burns better on a bed of ash, we will leave a bed of ash in the firebed of wood burning appliances. If you would like us to remove all the ashes, please let us know. We will test the chimney to make sure that the smoke comes out of the chimney pot. When we’ve finished, we will give you a chimney sweeping record to show what we have done and problems that we have found.

Servicing appliances – ask for quote

Usually, we will service your fire during chimney sweeping free of charge. We thoroughly clean all the flue ways and check the condition of the fire bricks, rope seals, glass and metal components. If any of these need replacing, we will let you know and give you a quote based on the costs of the parts needed.

Level 1 Chimney Inspection – £65.00 inc vat​

This consists of the following and is recommended for all jobs that we have not worked on before:

check any paperwork available for the appliance and installation
inspect the exterior of the chimney from the ground

inspect the appliance and installation for safety and compliance

dismantle the appliance

clean the chimney

examine the debris

brief camera inspection of the internal flue way

reassemble the appliance

type 2 smoke evacuation test

check air ventilation, CO alarm and fuel

report findings on chimney sweeping record
​ We also recommend this for pre house sale inspections, landlords check for tenanted houses or prior to installation of a new appliance or flue lining. Any problems found will be reported and any further Level 2 or Level 3 inspections or remedial work can be discussed and quoted for.
​​​Level 2 and Level 3 Chimney Inspections – ask for quote
If there are any faults found with your fire or chimney, a further investigation may be needed to find out how best to fix the problems. The type of work done in these inspections could include:

inspect complete exterior of the chimney from the roof which may need scaffold or access to neighbouring houses
type 1 smoke test or leakage test
full camera inspection
full recommissioning of the appliance to measure flue draft and ensure correct operation
remove register or coverings around the chimney where fitted
remove chimney pot or cowl to inspect upper areas of the chimney
make openings into the chimney to check or remove blockages

All of this will need to be assessed and quoted individually depending on what needs to be done and what equipment is needed.

Bird guards and chimney caps – £60.00 inc vat

We supply and fit a standard bird guard or chimney cap for this price. We can supply and fit any type of cowl depending on what is required. Prices vary for these but please ask and we will give you a quote. Most of the time, we can fit these without hiring scaffolding, as we have our own equipment to reach most chimneys. If we do have to hire anything, we add this to the cost.
Chimney pots – ask for quote

We can supply and fit new chimney pots of various sizes and designs. We can also fit second hand chimney pots if you have one that is in good condition.

Chimney repointing – ask for quote

Chimneys deteriorate and occasionally they need repointing. We can do this job for you, normally without needing to hire scaffolding. We use a battery powered angle grinder to remove old, loose mortar from the brick joints. Next, we wash the chimney to remove any dust from the grinding operation. The brick joints are then refilled with mortar. When this has started to dry, the brickwork is brushed down to remove excess mortar. Normally, we replace the mortar around the chimney pots to weatherproof the top of the chimney. The final job is to brush the debris from the roof and clear the gutters.

Stove and flue liner installation – ask for quote

As we are independent installers, you don’t have to buy from us. We are happy to supply all that you need, or just some items. We can supply fireplaces, stoves and flue liners, or we can fit ones that you have purchased. We are registered HETAS installers, so you don’t need to inform the local Building Control department that you are having the work done. We can install dry stoves and open fires, flexible flue liners and rigid twin wall systems. We are not qualified to install boiler stoves.

CCTV chimney surveys – ask for quote

As wood and coal burning becomes more popular, people are reopening their chimneys. It is necessary to check the internals of the chimney before any work is started to make sure the flue is in good condition. We can tell a lot from cleaning the chimney and smoke testing, but sometimes, it is worth having a CCTV survey. A camera is attached to the rods and pushed up the chimney. The internals of the chimney are shown on a monitor connected to the camera. This can highlight defects in the chimney which would only be found after reinstating some form fire and could mean having to spend a lot more money to fix the chimney. By having a CCTV survey before any work is done, decisions on which type of appliance and flue to install can be made at an early stage. Prices for this service vary depending on whether we have to get on the roof, but if we can do the survey from the fireplace, we normally only charge £65 inc vat for the level 1 chimney inspection.