01
You are buying the property
A standard survey will not tell you the condition of the flue. A camera will, before you exchange.
Service 05
CCTV chimney and flue surveys
A camera survey of the full flue when something is not drawing right, before a sale, or after a chimney fire. You get the footage.
Most of a chimney is invisible. You can see the hearth and you can see the pot, and everything that matters happens in between. A camera survey is how you find out what is actually in there instead of guessing from symptoms.
The camera runs the full length of the flue and records as it goes. What it typically finds is the things a sweep can feel but not prove — a cracked or displaced liner, a parging coat that has broken away, mortar joints that have opened up, a flue that has been blocked or partly filled at some point in the building's past, or damage after a chimney fire that looks fine from the room.
You get the footage. Not a verbal summary and not a selected still, the recording — because if you are buying a house, arguing with an insurer, or deciding whether to reline, the evidence is the point of the exercise.
What the visit covers
Every one of these, every time.
Full-length camera survey
The whole flue recorded, appliance to pot.
Sweep first where needed
A flue thick with soot shows nothing on camera. Where it needs sweeping to be surveyed properly, we sweep it.
The footage, handed over
The recording is yours, along with a plain explanation of what is in it.
Written findings
What was found, where it was found, and what it means in practice.
When to book it
Any one of these is reason enough.
02
There has been a chimney fire
A flue can be structurally damaged by a fire and look completely normal from the room. This is the case for a camera, not an opinion.
03
It smokes back and nobody knows why
When sweeping has not fixed the draw problem, the answer is usually something you can only see.
04
Smells or staining in an upstairs room
Fumes or damp tracking through a party wall or breast often means a defect in the flue itself.
Questions
The ones we actually get asked.
Do I get to keep the recording?
Yes. The footage is yours, with a written note of what was found and where. If you need it for an insurer, a solicitor or a builder, it is evidence rather than an opinion.
Does the chimney need sweeping first?
Usually. A camera cannot see through soot, so where the flue needs sweeping to be surveyed properly we sweep it as part of the job.
Will the survey tell me if I need a liner?
It will show you the condition of what is there — cracks, displacement, open joints, missing parging. That is the evidence a lining decision should be based on. We do not sell linings, so there is nothing riding on the answer.
Is this the same as a smoke test?
No, and they answer different questions. A camera shows you the physical condition of the flue. A smoke test shows you whether it is sound and venting where it should. Sometimes both are worth doing.
The other five jobs.
01
Open fires & inglenooks
Traditional brush-and-rod sweeping for open hearths, including wide inglenook throats and register plates that need lifting.
02
Wood burners & multi-fuel stoves
Baffle out, flue swept top to bottom, rope seals and glass checked. Stoves in constant use want sweeping twice a year, not once.
03
Bird nests & cowl fitting
Nest removal outside the March–August breeding season, followed by a bird guard or cowl so it does not happen again next spring.
04
Thatched properties
Swept from below, with a full external inspection of the stack and ridge. Thatch is unforgiving of a flue nobody has looked at.
06
Smoke-draw & integrity testing
Proving a flue is sound and venting where it should. Booked on its own when a room smokes back, before a purchase, or after a fire.
Get a slot before the season fills.
Monday to Saturday, 7am–7pm. Voicemail answered same day.