I am new to sweeping and very glad to be a member of Guild having trained in October this year and passed my Guild Assessment last week.
Hopefully I can pick people's brains on here when I come across any problems. So far my main sweeping issues have been chimneys that have not been swept for donkeys years (judging by the amount of soot that I get out) and stoves that have been fitted by DIY'ers or general builders who don't know what they are doing.
Oh and all those people who have put wood burners in because its trendy or to save money, but have no idea they need sweeping. When approaching people I know with wood burners, one person said "oh it doesn't need sweeping it has a liner", no amount of explanation, suggesting they look at the Guild Website etc. can convince them otherwise, because the installer (no idea who or whether HETAS or not) has told them that.
You're going to meet all sorts - you will probably meet liner folk in a few years after their first liner has had to be replaced and all the money they saved has now gone into replacing it!
have a plough through some of the older topics, there's lots to learn from other peoples problems before you have them yourself!
Hi Dave,
Get some of the Good fuel guides from (Lord) Dave Woofindin.
They are great for explaining things to customers, and have the benefit of after you've left, most people will pick it up and read it. That'll reinforce what you have told them especially CO awareness and fuel burning techniques.
The best one is telling them not over fuelling saves them money. Especially the blokes..lol
Don't be shy ask away someone will have an answer to pretty much any issue you come across...
Hey Dave Welcome to the Guild and a great resource - I did the October course last year and my assesment on Dec 9 last year. This forum, the people on and their willingness to help have been fantastic. An absolute godsend to people new to the Trade. Don't be afraid to ask questions, having checked the old topics, forces us all to think
