Chimney sweep & stove installer in Wigan & St Helens

HETAS advise at least twice a year if you burn wood, and at least once a year on smokeless fuel — ideally just before the heating season, with the second sweep after the peak of winter. If the appliance has sat unused for a season, sweep it before you light it — nests and debris are the common find.

Ask for one. It is your only evidence that the flue was swept, and insurers increasingly want to see a sweeping history after a chimney fire. A sweep who will not issue one is telling you something.

Yes. A twin-wall flue system builds an insulated flue from the appliance, either up through the house internally or out through the wall and up the outside. It is the standard answer for new builds, extensions, outbuildings and garden rooms.

Yes. As HETAS registered installers we self-certify the installation against Building Regulations and issue the compliance certificate directly, rather than waiting on a Building Control visit.

Yes. Approved Document J requires a carbon monoxide alarm in the same room as a new solid fuel appliance. It goes in as part of the install, not as an extra.

It depends on the chimney and the appliance. A modern efficient stove into a large old masonry flue will often draw poorly without a correctly sized liner, and an unlined flue in poor condition can leak combustion gases into the house. It is established by inspecting the flue, not by guessing from the fireplace.

More often it is the top of the stack. The flaunching — the mortar cap that holds the pots — is sacrificial and cracks with age, letting water into the brickwork. It usually shows up as a damp patch on a bedroom ceiling or a chimney breast. It is a repair, and it gets cheaper the earlier it is caught.

Wigan and St Helens, and the towns between. If you are on the edge of that, send us your postcode and you will get a straight answer.