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Carbon monoxide
A blocked or sooted flue pushes carbon monoxide back into the room instead of out the top. CO is colourless and odourless — you don't know it's there. A clean flue is the difference.
NACS Certified · Fully Insured · North East England
Used your stove, fire or chimney last winter? Summer is the smart time to get it swept, checked and certified — before the autumn rush and before the first cold night.
Most home insurance policies require a yearly professional sweep certificate — and every fire-type chimney, whether wood, multi-fuel, gas or open fire, should be swept every year. A clean flue protects your home from carbon monoxide and chimney fires. We sweep, smoke-test, and certify — same visit, same day.
NACS-certified £85 all-in Certificate emailed same day
Clean. Checked. Certified. Winter-ready.
Summer · May–August
Before you light it again, make sure your chimney is clean, checked and certified.
England recorded 2,019 chimney fires in 2024–25 — and they peak in January through March, when stoves and fires are running daily. The remedy is well-established: an annual sweep before the burn season, by a certified sweep, with a written certificate.
Book in summer. Skip the autumn rush. Be ready before the first cold night.
Both are preventable. Both are reasons we recommend an annual sweep — and reasons your insurer cares whether you had one.
A blocked or sooted flue pushes carbon monoxide back into the room instead of out the top. CO is colourless and odourless — you don't know it's there. A clean flue is the difference.
UK fire services attended over 2,000 chimney fires in homes last year. Almost all caused by creosote build-up — the residue an annual sweep clears away.
Source: gov.uk fire statistics, year ending March 2025
Most UK home policies require you to keep the property in good condition. The Financial Ombudsman has upheld chimney-fire claim refusals where homeowners couldn't produce a current sweep certificate.
Why sweep
It depends on what you burn. The schedule below is the NACS guidance every UK insurer expects you to follow.
Soot isn’t the only thing worth getting out of a chimney.
CCTV flue inspection · real footage from the camera
What happens between sweeps
Drag the slider. Soot crawls in, draw drops, risk climbs. The case for an annual sweep, made visible.
What we do
Sweeping, CCTV inspections and bird nest removal across the North East. Carried out properly, documented thoroughly, finished tidily.
Power sweep, smoke test, certificate emailed before we leave. Dust sheets, sealed vacuum — your hearth untouched.
HD video survey of the full flue. Catches cracked liners, blockages and structural wear — you keep the footage.
Blocked flues push smoke and CO into the room. We remove inactive nests safely — sweep, cap and certificate, one visit.
Christoff Berlage · NACS-registered sweep
Why Black Diamond
A sweep should leave no trace. Except a chimney that draws beautifully and a certificate your insurer accepts on sight.
Three principles: NACS certification, full public liability cover, and an annual service that genuinely keeps homes safe. No corners cut. No upselling. No soot on the carpet.
Every certificate insurer-recognised across the UK.
Dust sheets, sealed vacuum, boots off. No mess.
£5m public liability. Your home, fully covered.
Yearly sweep. Safer home. Lower risk. Cleaner burn.
Where we sweep
Based in Newcastle. Booked daily across Tyne & Wear, Durham, Northumberland and Tees Valley. Village not listed? Ask — we likely cover it.