Chimney sweep in Vecāķi - wooden summer houses and detached houses by the sea

A summer house that has become a home

Summer houses were usually built for the warm season, and the stove or cooker was meant for cool evenings. If people now live in them in winter too, the stove and chimney work much harder than was intended. So before the first full winter we recommend not only cleaning but also a technical condition inspection: whether the channel is sound, whether the stove has cracked and whether the chimney touches wooden structures in the attic.

In a wooden house combustible structures must be at least 300 mm from the flue. In the attic the flue and the wall it runs through are whitewashed or painted a light colour so that cracks and soot marks are visible. If the whitewash is grey or has dark streaks, we note it in the certificate.

The first fire after a break

If the house is only used seasonally, the chimney stands cold and open for months. Sand and leaves fall into it, and birds tend to build a nest right in the channel. The first fire after that can fill the room with smoke. So before opening the season the channel is cleaned from the top and the bottom and the draught is checked. More: chimney sweep for a summer house.

Gas appliances have their own requirement: if an appliance has not been used for more than six months, an extraordinary check with a certificate is needed before it is switched on. Solid-fuel appliances are cleaned before the heating season, by 1 November; boilers and metal stoves once more by 1 March.

Sea wind and draught

In Vecāķi the main conditions are the sea wind, sand and dunes. Strong wind over the roof can create back pressure, and then smoke comes back into the stove or fireplace. Often the cause is a chimney that is too low, or a higher roof, a tree or a neighbouring house nearby. The building code requires a chimney to be at least 0.5 m above the roof covering and allows caps and deflectors.

During the inspection we check the height, how clean the channel is and the draught, and we recommend what will help: a cap, a deflector or raising the chimney. In wind and sand the chimney head and crown slab also wear faster. More: chimney has no draught and chimney head rebuilding.

Detached houses with boilers and fireplaces

In the newer detached houses of Vecāķi the heating is usually the house's own boiler. According to the map there is no visible district heating zone in the neighbourhood, but this is our reading of a 2019 map. For wood and pellet boilers we clean the flue twice a season, for gas boilers we inspect the flue and, if needed, prepare a certificate for a boiler replacement. For a fireplace we clean both the firebox and the flue up to the top: fireplace cleaning.

Cafés and leisure spots

Vecāķi has catering and leisure businesses whose busiest time is summer. If the premises have a fireplace, a wood stove or another appliance with a flue, it is better to plan the work before the season, not in the middle of it. A business always needs a certificate. More: chimney sweep for a business.

Access and price

Vecāķi is reached along Vecāķu prospekts and by train, but in summer parking is in short supply. In your request, tell us whether a car can drive up to the house and where the ladder or hatch to the roof is. Old summer houses often have a steep wooden roof, so we sometimes clean the channel from below, through the stove door or the cleaning door.

Chimney cleaning with a certificate costs from €100, usually €100–130, with the call-out included. Cleaning the flue channels of a stove or fireplace costs the same, from €100. A technical condition report, a cap, a deflector and chimney head repairs are priced for your situation, and we quote the price before the work starts. All prices: prices.