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help - ramoneur needed!


Lapaix
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save yourself some money :

Get a set of drain rods and a fitting that goes on the end of it which looks like a flat brush about 8 to 10 inches across. About £30 (when I last bought a set some 4 years ago) in any ironmongers in UK

Make sure that all PRECIOUS carpetting, decorating is WELL covered that no dust will damage. Put old sheet across aperture of fireplace fixed with strong gaffer/duck tape. Through a little hole push the rod up and down the chimney. Send someone outside to see if the rod has come out of the chimney. If so you don't need to add anymore section of rods. Each rod is a yar/meter long so you'll know how tall your chimney/fireplace is....

... and that's all there is to it.... so simple that even I  (a silly scatty woman) does so every so often....

and use the set with different fittings for gutters and drain pipes to clean them after storms....

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Will this do for insurance purposes, MYB?  The ramoneur supplies a certificate, but I've never been totally sure how necessary this would be, were there a fire, to prove you have had your chimney properly swept.

We called the local plumbing company to do ours last year.  Apparently a lot of plumbers do this as well.

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Cassis asked >>>Will this do for insurance purposes, MYB?<<<

Don't know really.... my insurance has not yet asked me for any such certificate.

The house has been on this spot since 1830 and I've lived in it for the last 25 and a bit more years. It will be here until either OH or me 'casseront notre pipe' and whoever of us two is left behind will sell it to go S.K.I. ing with the proceeds..... unless the kids have put us in the twilight zone waiting room......

Must be that we do things different in the welsh valleys.....

If Brico sells these set of rods with a blank certificate, then a self-clean must be OK!.... perhaps for peace of mind have a professional clean done every 5 or 6 years and in between do it yourself...
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[quote user="missyesbut"]Cassis asked >>>Will this do for insurance purposes, MYB?<<<

Don't know really.... my insurance has not yet asked me for any such certificate.

The house has been on this spot since 1830 and I've lived in it for the last 25 and a bit more years. It will be here until either OH or me 'casseront notre pipe' and whoever of us two is left behind will sell it to go S.K.I. ing with the proceeds..... unless the kids have put us in the twilight zone waiting room......

Must be that we do things different in the welsh valleys.....

If Brico sells these set of rods with a blank certificate, then a self-clean must be OK!.... perhaps for peace of mind have a professional clean done every 5 or 6 years and in between do it yourself...[/quote]

I would imagine that the insurance company would only ask for a certificate if you put in a claim following a chimmney fire, then if no certificate they can duck out of paying.

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Probably the safest option, Debs.  I don't know if some French insurers are as weasley as some UK insurers when it comes to ducking a claim and I can't imagine it would affect anything other than a fire claim arising from a chimney fire, but better safe etc.

When are you off across the water, by the way?

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Certainly some French insurance companies will do pretty well anything to avoid or delay paying a claim and questioning a certificate would seem a good method to me.

I understand that in some areas the firemen will also ask for the certificate if they are called out to a chimney fire and may fine you if you do not have one (i.e. after calling them for a chimney fire). This is what I understand as I've no experience of this (or chimney fires).

Also, when I had my wood burner installed last Jan, one of the conditions of the 10 yr guarantee is that the chimney is swept (they actually say twice a year but I'm only doing it the once each year).

Ian
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[quote user="Deimos"]

I understand that in some areas the firemen will also ask for the certificate if they are called out to a chimney fire and may fine you if you do not have one (i.e. after calling them for a chimney fire). This is what I understand as I've no experience of this (or chimney fires). 

Ian[/quote]

I've heard the same, but I was told its not a 'fine' but the cost of the callout, presumably under the heading of 'culpable negligence' same financial effect though.

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[quote user="Cassis"]Probably the safest option, Debs.  I don't know if some French insurers are as weasley as some UK insurers when it comes to ducking a claim and I can't imagine it would affect anything other than a fire claim arising from a chimney fire, but better safe etc.

When are you off across the water, by the way?
[/quote]UK Sunday, Canada Wednesday!
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Yes, I've seen them.  Reading the instructions, they seem to advise that you use them regularly - not just once a year - for them to be effective.  I've sometimes wondered what the insurers make of these 'certificates'.  Can it really be as effective as a physical scrape of the chimney, do you think?  It seems a bit too easy to be true!

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Check with your insurance company whether or not a certificate is necessary - if the answer is 'no' then get this in writing. They may well deny all knowledge if you have to make a claim! Ours say it is not necessary, as long as you clean the chimney regularly yourself (clean it often if you use it all the time, or just once a year if hardly used). We use the long drain cleaner thingy with the brush on the end and it works very well.

Jane

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I'd rather do it myself if I can, depending what the insurance say.  I would have thought that in the event of a fire then the fire brigade should be able to tell if the chimney were to blame and if it had been cleaned properly .

I have noticed a neighbour doing his and his sister's house and he climbed up on the roof to do it, shoving the brush down the chimney.  Is this just his weird way of doing things or is it for a good reason, do you think?  It was a chimney for an open fireplace in each case.

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Hi Cassis

we do ours once a year because we only use the fire for around 3-4 weeks per year in total (still part timers unfortunately).  They recommend using one every 2 months during the season.  The certificate is a full blow insurance certificate covering you for 1m€ (I think - anyway a lot) damages consequent from a chimney fire.

 

As for scraping - do you really think the brush brings off the tar from the walls of the flue?   I can tell you judging by the amount of clinker I have to shovel out of the inspection hole on our flue every time I use one of these (about 2-3 weeks later), it's a lot better than a brush.

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In that case I may have another read of the box - certainly sounds a lot easier than brushing.  And if it's every 2 months that probably means 3 buches a year for us.  Must do a cost analysis versus the ramoneur!

I think 1m€ should just about cover the cost of a rebuild. [;-)]

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[quote user="missyesbut"]

save yourself some money :

Get a set of drain rods and a fitting that goes on the end of it which looks like a flat brush about 8 to 10 inches across. About £30 (when I last bought a set some 4 years ago) in any ironmongers in UK

Make sure that all PRECIOUS carpetting, decorating is WELL covered that no dust will damage. Put old sheet across aperture of fireplace fixed with strong gaffer/duck tape. Through a little hole push the rod up and down the chimney. Send someone outside to see if the rod has come out of the chimney. If so you don't need to add anymore section of rods. Each rod is a yar/meter long so you'll know how tall your chimney/fireplace is....

... and that's all there is to it.... so simple that even I  (a silly scatty woman) does so every so often....

and use the set with different fittings for gutters and drain pipes to clean them after storms....

[/quote]

Well I suppose that after about 4 or 5 years you start saving money but all that hassle, and it's a dirty job!  Our guy charges 40 euros and says that it needs doing every 2 years, not every year, especially if it's only a holiday home.  Ask roofers or plumbers if you know of any - they often become ramoneurs in the winter months.  Our guy is great and is in Manche, but I know for a fact that he wouldn't come as far as St Hilaire.

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[quote user="Lapaix"]

Hi, all

Does anyone have a recommendation for a ramoneur in the Mortain/St Hilaire area of Normandy?  One that speaks some English would be the icing on the cake!

Lynda

[/quote]

 

Be careful how you tell somebody J'ai ramoné,  you might get some funny looks in the bar if you don't mention a chimney was involved[:D]

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[quote user="cooperlola"]Beware because some of these things tell you not to use them on a lined chimney - can't remember which metals were specified but we couldn't use them in ours.[/quote]

Yes - another neighbour had a chimney done and the ramoneur ripped the metal lining apart with the wrong brush head. 

We have very interesting conversations round these parts. [Www]

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