Guy Barker Hall
Chimney and Stove Specialist
HETAS and NACS Registered
Chimney Sweeping and Maintenance
As with the stove side of the company I am a member of a professional association - The National Association of Chimney Sweeps (NACS). Being a part of this organisation we are bound by a code of conduct and practice. For you, it means you get certificate every time your chimney is swept and a warning notice if it's not in a state of good repair!
Be aware there is no such thing as the N.R.C.S. or the Association of Chimney Sweeps for Cornwall!!
A Chimney Sweep should preferably be a member of a recognised association such as:-The National Association of Chimney Sweeps (NACS), The Guild of Master Sweeps (GMS) or The Association of Professional Independent Chimney Sweeps (APICS).
Whilst it is not yet a legal requirement in this country to have your chimney swept regularly ( it is virtually everywhere else in Europe!! ) it makes sense to have it done at least yearly.
As with any of my work I believe in doing a thorough job. I will do my utmost to unblock chimneys and will advise on how to do solve any problems should they occur.
Case Study
This was one of the worst chimneys I had the pleasure of working on! The client was a farmer who had a tenant in this property for some time. There was a Clearview Pioneer stove sitting in the lounge fireplace. The tenant been complaining that the stove had never worked properly since it was installed. The top picture is looking down through the pot and as you can see it looks like someone has literally poured a can of bitumen down the chimney!
In fact what had happened was the tenant had been burning freshly cut timber and painted offcuts whilst telling the farmer he had burning dry seasoned timber. 
He also had a half pipe type cowl on the pot which are only to be installed on unused flues. The photo below was taken of the fireplace where the stove sat. I had to get a reamer, which is a drill driven spinning chain, to blast off as much of the tar residue as I could. Once this was done ( see last photo ) the flue was relined and insulated. The stove was then reconnected.
