One year of chimney sweeping in Birmingham

Just over one year ago I decided to move full time to Birmingham to support my partner through her cancer treatment and start my business. Having had over twenty years' experience in the industry and previously run my own business having showrooms and installation teams fitting wood burning stoves throughout Herefordshire, Gloucestershire and Worcestershire I felt confident in my ability to offer a good service, however starting out again after four years employed managing a larger business within the solid fuel industry was daunting.

My work highlights of the last year include getting the group booking initiative working well. This involves several neighbours booking together for their annual chimney sweep and safety checks and getting a nice big discount for a group booking. Generally folks have used their street Whatsapp groups to facilitate this. This saves my customers money and saves me time and reduces mileage

As one of the few Chimney sweeps to have completed the NVQ level two in chimney sweeping I am now starting my journey as an assessor to enable others to become qualified. The industry is very peculiar in that most chimney sweeps have no actual qualification to carry out their work, (you may have looked for a Hetas registration for your sweep, but Hetas is not a qualification and it and other trade associations offer training but not qualifications). The NVQ is really important to our industry and now more chimney sweeps are undertaking this qualifiction process the level of knowledge and customer service can only improve.

My other highlight of the year is getting to know Birmingham better. Having settled in Moseley I am thouroughly enjoying exploring all parts of Birmingham on my travels. I'm a member of Moseley Tennis club, and enjoying playing pickleball at Billesley Tennis Centre too.

Thank you to my customers of the last year and see you soon. From a straight forward chimney clean to a thorough inspection of problem chimneys, advice on the most efficient way to get your log burner working, and an in depth discussion on the chemistry of burning wood and the environmental impact of domestic wood burning - I look forward to it all.

Did you know you should get your chimney swept this spring so as not to leave the soot rotting in your chimney all summer long as this will reduce the life of your chimney, liner and appliance? Please get in touch to book your next sweep.

My goals for the coming year are to grow my business, I hope to be of service to you soon - rest assured you will have probably the most experienced sweep in Birmingham attend and help you as best I can.