01 / Power sweeping
Power sweeping
Rotary power sweeping gets the flue properly clean rather than just knocking the loose stuff down. Suits lined and unlined flues, open fires and stoves alike.
Traditional care · Modern standards · Local service
Clean
chimneysSafe homes
Power sweeping, stove servicing and CCTV flue inspections across the Tyne Valley and the wider Northumberland patch. One sweep, one van, no subcontractors.
- Rated
- 5.012 Google reviews, 38 on Facebook, none below five stars
- Based
- StocksfieldNew Ridley Road, Northumberland
- Day job
- FirefighterFull time in the fire service, sweeping on my days off
- Cover
- Fully insuredCertificate issued after every sweep
Straight to my phone
Get me booked
No call centre and no answering service. Everything here comes straight to me.
What do you need?
Why I do it
A full-time firefighter
who sweeps chimneys
I am a full-time firefighter. The sweeping is the other half of the same job, done on my days off, because I have walked into the houses where nobody got round to it.
That is the whole point of the business. Not upselling. Getting more chimneys in the valley looked at, more CO alarms on more walls, and fewer people finding out the hard way what a neglected flue does.
Most chimney fires are entirely preventable. I would rather tell you your stove is fine and you have wasted ten minutes of my time than get called to it at 3am.
Full-time firefighter
Fire safety first
Free advice, always
Four questions, about 30 seconds
Is your chimney
actually safe?
Most chimney fires are entirely preventable, and the warning signs are things people live with for years without noticing. Answer four and see where you stand.
Question 1 of 4
When was the chimney last swept?
What I do
Six jobs, done properly
Everything below is carried out by me, with dust sheets down and a HEPA vacuum running before the brush ever goes up.
Stove cleaning
Baffle out, firebox cleaned down, throat plate and airwash checked so the glass stops blacking over.
CCTV inspection
Camera up the flue to see what the brush cannot. Cracked liners, spalled brick and blockages get found before they matter.
Bird nest removal
Jackdaw nests can fill a flue with a metre of twigs. Removed, bagged and the pot checked for a cowl.
Legally restricted months, see below
Rope replacement
Perished door and glass rope replaced and re-bedded, so the stove seals and burns at the temperature it should.
CO detector fitting
Supplied and sited properly. Carbon monoxide has no smell, and the wrong position on the wall makes an alarm close to useless.
Why I might say no in May
The bird nesting window
Active nests are protected, so a chimney with jackdaws in it cannot be cleared during the nesting season whatever the customer would prefer. From September the flue is fair game again, which is exactly when everyone wants their chimney done. Book early.
Nest removal available
Nesting season, no removal
This month
Red months are not a closed door
I can still come and look
Even in the months I cannot legally clear a nest, I will come out and do a check-up: inspect the flue, camera up it if it is warranted, check the pot, the rope and the CO alarm, and tell you exactly what needs doing the moment the season opens. That way you are first in my book in September rather than queueing behind everyone else.
About an hour, start to finish
What happens when I turn up
Sheets down
Dust sheets over the hearth and the carpet, and the vacuum sealed to the appliance before anything moves.
Sweep
Rotary head up the full length of the flue, working the deposits loose from the liner rather than around it.
Check
Camera up where it is warranted, plus a look at the pot, the cowl, the rope and the draw.
Certificate
Paperwork issued on the spot for your insurer, and a straight answer on anything I found.
The bit that matters to your insurer
You get paperwork, not just a clean flue
Most home insurance policies expect a solid fuel appliance to be swept at a stated interval, and expect you to be able to prove it. The certificate is that proof: it records the appliance, the flue and the date it was swept. A verbal "aye, it's done" is worth nothing at claim time.
- Issued before I leave the house
- Records the appliance, the flue and the date swept
- Notes anything found that needs watching
Tyne Valley Chimney Sweep
Certificate of Sweeping
ApplianceMulti-fuel stove
Flue typeLined, 150mm
MethodPower swept
AccessFull length
Next sweep due12 months
Example only · not a real certificate
Drag the handle
What a sweep
actually does
Most people never see inside their own chimney. That is a solid plug of soot choking the flue collar, and the same collar an hour later.
My own before and after. One appliance, one visit.
After
Before
Drag any of them
Before and after
Every one of these is a real chimney in the Tyne Valley, photographed at the start of the job and again when I packed up.
After
Before
Where I sweep
The valley
and beyond
Based in Stocksfield and out across the valley most days. If your village is not on the list it is still worth asking, I cover a wide patch of Northumberland.
StocksfieldHexhamCorbridgePrudhoe
AcombHaydon BridgeFourstonesOvingham
PontelandBlaydonRytonCrawcrookWylamRiding MillMickleyNew Ridley
BywellOvingtonBroomhaughWhittonstall
Who turns up
Tommy Wanless
I am a full-time firefighter, and I sweep chimneys on my days off. That order matters. I have seen what a neglected flue does to a house, which is why I would rather tell you a stove needs work than take the money and go.
Based in Stocksfield with my family. One van, one sweep, and the same face at the door every year.
Certificates issued
Fully insured
Clean & tidy job
5.0
Not one review under five stars
12 Google reviews · 38 Facebook recommendations · nothing negative in three years
“Tommy did a great job on our open fire and wood burner. Very clean and tidy, and thorough job on both fires, with the removal of loads of soot and residue from the open fire in particular.”
Tom Smyth · Google
“Really good service from Tommy for a couple of years now. Very knowledgeable, clean and tidy and a decent price to ensure safety is paramount. Will certainly use for the future.”
Nicola Hawes · Google
“Tyne Valley Chimney Sweep did a fantastic job sweeping my chimney today. Tommy was very knowledgeable and professional and left my house clean and tidy.”
Catherine Kirkpatrick · Google
“Very professional, efficient and left everything clean and tidy. See you next year.”
Fiona Clydesdale · Google
“Great job cleaning the chimney. Very professional and not a spot of mess. Thank you Tommy.”
Katy · Google
Read all 12
on Google
And leave one if I have swept for you
Have I swept for you?
Leave me a review
It is the whole reason a one-man business gets found. Thirty seconds of your time is worth more to me than any advert I could pay for.
The cheapest thing in your house that saves your life
Alarms
I fit these while I am there, so there is no second visit and no wondering whether it went in the right place. Tell me what you need and I will bring it with me.
Carbon monoxide alarm
Audible CO alarm, sited properly for the room and the appliance. Sealed unit, no batteries to forget.
No smell, no colour, no taste. You will not notice it yourselfSmoke alarm
Optical smoke alarm for the hall or landing, the places they actually belong rather than where they end up.
Fitted and tested before I leaveBoth, fitted together
The usual one. CO alarm by the stove, smoke alarm on the escape route, both tested with you watching so you know the sound.
What I would put in my own houseThe ones I get asked every week
Questions
How often does it need doing?
At least once a year for a wood burner or open fire, and more often if it is your main source of heat. If it has been twelve months or longer, it is due.
Will it make a mess?
No. Dust sheets go over the hearth and the carpet, and the vacuum is sealed to the appliance before anything moves. Customers tend to mention this first: “not a spot of mess”.
Do I get anything in writing?
Yes. A sweep certificate, issued before I leave the house. It records the appliance, the flue and the date it was swept, which is what your insurer will want to see if you ever have to claim.
How long will it take?
It depends on the job. A straightforward sweep is usually about an hour. A blocked flue, a nest or a stove that needs stripping down takes longer. I will tell you before I start, not after.
What does it cost?
It depends on the appliance and what needs doing, so I price each job rather than quoting blind on a website. Tick what you need on the quote form and I will come back with a price.
There are birds in my chimney. Can you get them out?
Between September and February, yes. From March to August nests are legally protected and nobody can clear them, whatever you are told. I can still come out in those months to inspect it, camera it and get you booked in for the moment the season opens.
Do I need to do anything before you come?
Let the fire go out at least 24 hours beforehand so everything is stone cold, and clear any ornaments and furniture from around the hearth. That is it.
Are you insured?
Fully insured. I am also a full-time firefighter, which is where the fussiness about fire safety comes from.
Twelve months since the last one?
Get the chimney booked
September onwards fills up fast. A text with your village and your appliance is enough to get started.