When installing or owning a fire, fitting protection can be seen as an extra cost that seems un-warranted and it can be hard for installers to stress the importance of fitting rain and bird protection to the top of a chimney.
Recently we were asked to help replace an old inset gas fire that had been condemned, we were more than happy to help this new customer with their fire troubles and see if we could either fix or replace what they currently had.
When we arrived at the property to get an idea of what would need to be done, some tell tale signs started to become apparent.
There are many reasons an appliance may stop working correctly, from appliance issues to chimney issues and figuring out where the problems are can involve some investigating but can help to avoid more trouble in the future.
The old gas fire in this customers property had some twigs and leaves that had fallen through the chimney onto the burner, this can be quite dangerous, especially if a fire is running when these fall down.
Current gas fires have built in safety measures to shut the fire off if there is an issue with the appliance, older fires don’t necessarily have these features and can therefore be dangerous if the appliance and chimney isn’t cared for.
The twigs and leaves were a sign that a bird had likely made its nest in the chimney, a common issue with un-protected chimneys.
A sweep like this can be a lengthy and expensive process that is easily avoidable by adding protection to the top of your chimney.
It took the chimney sweepers from ‘Cleansweep’ an hour and a half to fully unblock the chimney and remove the birds nest from the property.
Adding protection can help to prevent birds nesting in the chimney, downdraught and rain, all of which are common issues with an unprotected chimney pot.
For more information on protecting your chimney or to organise a chimney sweep, call or visit us in our showroom.
If you would like to organise your own chimney sweep, you can contact ‘Cleansweep’ directly on – 01483 473794