Classic Chimney Sweeping: Serving Richmond, Delta & Beyond
At Classic Chimney Sweeping, our team is dedicated to offering our customers clean, professional service by properly trained and equipped professionals. With more than 35 years of experience in Richmond, Delta and beyond, we’re the clear choice for professional chimney sweeping and window cleaning!
We guarantee there will be no mess!
Service Area
Classic Chimney Sweeping serves Richmond, Delta, and the Lower Mainland.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
(Answered by Buster Travers owner/operator since 1981).
FAQ- DO YOU LAY A TARP DOWN IN FRONT OF THE FIREPLACE, BRING YOUR VACUUM INTO THE HOME, TARP & TAPE OFF THE FRONT OF THE FIREPLACE, GO ONTO THE ROOF AND SWEEP THE CHIMNEY FLUE DOWN FROM ABOVE?
No, that is the method that “the ill informed (and poorly equipped) chimney sweep” has been doing for a minimum of 4 1/2 decades and sadly continues to this day. It is how I was (poorly) “trained” before I started my own company in 1981. I was expected to complete the entire job myself in under 15 minutes. However this approach may do less than 1/3 of the job.
Sweeping the areas you can’t access from the roof (firewalls, damper, smoke shelf, smoke chamber) then the chimney flue, and cleaning up the debris is far more involved than running a brush down and back up the chimney flue. If this work is not done properly (or not done) the “ill informed chimney sweep” could leave your fireplace chimney more likely to catch on fire than before he/she got there. The first several thousand chimneys I swept were all from the roof downward, in all kinds of weather (inherently very dangerous). I did this because of a limited budget, poor equipment and because it conformed to the public’s (erroneous) preconceived notions that chimney sweeping must be done from the roof downwards with soot likely to billow into the room. Happily it did not continue to be that way.
Chimney sweeping is best done with professional grade tools of the trade including a professional grade chimney sweeping vacuum. By the mid 1980’s I started to amass the specialized tools necessary to sweep the next 30,000+ fireplace chimneys primarily from below (I do go to the chimney top to inspect my work and the chimney condition, if I deem it safe enough to do so). Thankfully, equipment to sweep chimneys upwards and out the top from in front of the fireplace has been available in the UK to professional chimney sweeps since 1803. Tragically, due to ‘resistance to change’ it took until the 1870s before this revolutionary equipment replaced the “climbing boys” as the new industry standard in Britain. We should all learn from this.
Sweeping upwards is inherently less dangerous. A welcome bonus is that a good deal of the soot and ash now gets caught in the updraft and billows up and out the chimney stack as opposed to downward and into the room. Importantly: you do not have to rely on the tarp, tape and vacuum to not fail while you are on the roof sweeping downwards.
In the mid 1990s I had a vacuum custom built that could stand up to the rigours of professional chimney sweeping. This vacuum is very powerful and rugged. I routinely leave it outside, rain or shine and run the vacuum hose up to the fireplace (as opposed to bringing it into the home). This is important in the event of a vacuum malfunction (for example: soot and ash spewing out of the exhaust port into your living room). This is particularly likely to happen with homeowner grade vacuums as they are just not built to handle the large volumes of soot and ash encountered in professional chimney sweeping.
I guarantee there will be no mess!
FAQ- HOW DO YOU PROTECT OUR FLOOR COVERINGS?
I am exceptional (if not unique) in that I run multiple floor runners and tarps over your floor coverings from the closest door to the front of the fireplace-thus I have a place to lay the vacuum hose, walk back and forth, situate my hand tools, and place your fireplace grate and screen, etc. Importantly, these runners and tarps have designated top and bottom sides. I am not transferring soot (from previous jobs) onto your floor coverings.
FAQ- WHAT RELEVANT CERTIFICATES DO YOU HAVE?
Holding the highest certification available for Chimney Sweep with Wood Energy Technical Transfer Inc. (WETT) I am an Advanced (Master) Chimney Sweep and SITE Comprehensive Inspector (WETT #8753). I also hold a Gas Appliance Service Technician certificate (Cert # CGA010042715). My WETT certifications involved far more study than my Gas Appliance Service Technician certificate. These WETT certifications require continuing education every 5 years to stay valid.
My Gas Appliance Service Technician certificate does not require continuing education.
A “chimney sweep” without certification is “the ill informed” posing as a Chimney Sweep. This practice should be unacceptable.
I am talking about preventing house fires.
Properly trained, certified and equipped Chimney Sweeps can and do, save lives.
I would be pleased to provide you with more detailed answers to these and other questions you may have.
Please phone me to book your appointment.
Buster J Travers
Classic Chimney Sweeping and Window Cleaning Ltd. (est.1981).
(WETT) Certified Advanced (Master) Chimney Sweep,
SITE Comprehensive Inspector (WETT # 8753).
Gas Appliance Service Technician CGA010042715.
Current W.C.B. Coverage
Business & Third Party Insurance.
Errors & Omissions Insurance.
Owner/ Operator of Western Stove World Ltd. (1979-1980 Lumby, BC).
Properly trained, certified and equipped Chimney Sweeps can and do, save lives.
P. L. Travers the author of the Mary Poppins is a well known stickler for detail.
Buster J Travers Advanced Chimney Sweep is a well known stickler for detail.
Coincidence? We don’t think so. It was meant to be.
Please enjoy the movie clip.
Cheerio, good luck and see you soon!
About Us
Classic Chimney Sweeping has provided chimney sweeping services to Richmond, Delta and the surrounding municipalities since 1981.
Buster J Travers (owner/operator since 1981) is exceptional in that he is a Wood Energy Technical Transfer Inc. (W.E.T.T.) Certified, Advanced (Master) Chimney Sweep and SITE Comprehensive Inspector (WETT #8753). He scored well over the passing grade of 85% on 5 WETT courses to attain this. There is a lower passing grade of 70% and one less course to attain basic WETT Certified Chimney Sweep. Why accept less?
We are talking about preventing house fires.
Properly trained, certified and equipped Chimney Sweeps can and do, save lives.
WETT is Canada’s only certification agency qualified to train chimney sweeps, insurance company representatives, municipal offices (including fire chiefs and building inspectors) in wood energy technology. WETT also trains wood burning appliance installers, manufacturers and other wood heat experts.
We are exceptional (if not unique) in that we have sourced professional grade tools of the trade from the UK, Germany, USA and last but not least Canada. Our main vacuum is proudly Canadian designed and built right here in BC. Our back-up vacuum is still pretty good. It is a USA built professional grade chimney sweeping vacuum. This vacuum has 3 motors and requires 2 household electrical circuits of 120 volt (per circuit) to operate at full capacity. Our Canadian custom built vacuum is our preferred vacuum because it is far superior to the USA built vacuum. We are the most experienced, have the highest certification available and are the best equipped Chimney Sweeping Company in the vicinity by far, bar none. This equipment (and know how) enables us to thoroughly clean, much more safely, your chimney from bottom to top.
Sadly, most “chimney sweeps” arrive at your door with homeowner grade equipment including a homeowner grade vacuum. This practice should be unacceptable.
We are talking about preventing house fires.
Properly trained, certified and equipped Chimney Sweeps can and do, save lives.
Homeowner grade equipment wears rapidly under professional use and becomes an ineffective prop as it quickly loses it’s intended function. Homeowner grade vacuums commonly lose significant suction by the end of the first job of the day, as the filters clog with fine ash and soot. Happily it does not have to be like this.