Just realized most new sweeps skip checking the smoke chamber

I was on a job last Tuesday and saw the previous sweep left a thick layer of creosote buildup right in the smoke chamber, not just the flue. The homeowner said they'd had annual cleanings for 3 years, but the inspector caught it when they bought the house. Has anyone else noticed this becoming a common miss in the trade?

3 comments

3 Comments

phoenix_campbell8822d ago

Oh man, you hit on something that bugs me too. But I gotta say, the smoke chamber and the flue are kind of two separate things, you know? The flue is just the pipe part, while the smoke chamber is that wider area above the firebox. Lots of newer guys think a quick brush through the flue is good enough, but that chamber needs a different tool or even a manual scrape to get it clean. It's definitely getting skipped more now that companies rush through jobs for volume, but calling it a "sweep" if they don't touch that area is just wrong.

gavins4322d ago

Ain't that the truth, who's got time to do it right when you're racing to the next job?

ryan_nelson22d ago

Man, that's rough. I feel like a total idiot admitting this but I did the same thing my first year in the trade. I was so focused on scrubbing the flue clean I didn't even think about that wide chamber above the firebox. It's like learning to change a tire but forgetting to check the spare. You're right though, it's getting skipped way too much now that everyone's trying to crank out four jobs a day. That creosote layer in the chamber is basically a fire waiting to happen and it's scary how many new guys just brush right past it. Probably explains why more homes are having chimney fires even after "cleanings.