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New Home, New Fireplace? Then You’ll Love This Inspection Service We’ve Launched For You…

Buying a new home with an existing fireplace can be very exciting. But how do you know it is working properly?

The truth is that most Homebuyer Surveys are completely meaningless when it comes to checking real fireplaces. In fact, hundreds of homes get sold every year with faulty installations. 

That’s the reason we’ve introduced our New Homeowner Inspection Service.

From just £199, you can learn more about your fireplace and not run the risk of ‘leaving it to chance’.

Our New Homeowner Inspection Service includes

  • A visual inspection of accessible parts of your installation, including the fireplace area, lower part of the flue and a ground level check of your chimney terminal
  • A check of your fire and its accessible, internal components
  • A full sweep of the flue serving your fire (assuming adequate access)
  • A CCTV inspection of the flue serving your appliance
  • A flue smoke draw test
  • Friendly, bespoke advice on how to use your appliance effectively
  • Paperwork documenting work undertaken and any advice/recommendations
  • External chimney drone inspection (optional – additional £90)
Mr Soot is a professional, HETAS-Approved, Guild-registered Master Chimney Sweep.

When you book your New Homeowner Inspection Service, you will be given a fixed date and designated time slot. For added convenience, we will text you when we are on our way.

And don’t worry about having to get cash out of the ATM – we take card payments.

Traditional Values, Modern Service…

Using a fireplace without having it checked by a professional first can be very risky and even dangerous. 

Having an expert eye cast over your appliance will help give you peace of mind.

Video: Why you are BANNED from burning this in Chorlton, Withington, Didsbury or Northenden

It’s cheap, traditional and gives a good flame picture. But burning housecoal ANYWHERE in the Manchester City Council area could land you with a fine of up to £1,000.

The reason is because the whole of Manchester – including Chorlton, Withington, Didsbury, Northenden – is a designated Smoke Control Area.

The zone was brought in back in 1985 to help improve air quality across the city area. This means that regardless of whether you have an open fire or multi fuel stove, you cannot burn traditional housecoal.

And the only way you can legally burn wood on any appliance in this area is if it is a DEFRA Exempt Appliance. These are usually more modern stoves which are tested for emissions and cannot be ‘slumbered’.

The only fuel which can legally be burnt on any multi fuel appliance or open fire in this area is Approved Smokeless Fuel. More details on this can be found at https://www.gov.uk/smoke-control-area-rules

The overall picture on how the law is applied across Manchester is hazy (forgive the pun!) Manchester City Council said they couldn’t tell me how many complaints they’d investigated under the Clean Air legislation as complaints aren’t categorised in that way, and to search through every record would take days. However, they did confirm that since 2009, they hadn’t sought to prosecute a single person under the Act.

Nevertheless, why run the risk of being the first person in a decade to be fined? My advice is to always use the right fuels for your fireplace and, if in doubt, check with a professional!

Mr Soot Chimney Sweep is a co-founder of Burnright, a DEFRA-backed campaign which aims to educate solid fuel users on how to get the best out of their appliance while doing their bit for the environment. He’s also a HETAS Approved Sweep, and member of the Guild of Master Chimney Sweeps, offering a professional and friendly chimney sweep and stove service. Book Mr Soot online or call 0800 0541154