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Thornbury’s Edwardian, Federation and bungalow fireplaces are back in use after renovations, often with an insert dropped into the original opening. FreshDuct sweeps the flue or the liner inside it, and photographs the result.
Fire smoking since the renovation? Book the sweep, but expect us to check the air supply before blaming the soot.
Thornbury has more recently reopened fireplaces than almost any suburb in the inner north. Edwardian and Federation homes off High Street and bungalows toward Merri Creek have been renovated hard, and part of that is usually restoring the sitting room fireplace or fitting a wood heater insert into the original opening. Either way the unlined brick flue above it, idle for years, is suddenly asked to carry smoke again.
An idle period flue is rarely empty. The soot from its first working life is still on the brick, and while it stood cold it collected mortar dust, a nest or two and the odd bird. So the sweep starts with a camera, then rods and a rotary head sized to the flue, working the full height until the brick face is clean, with the smoke shelf vacuumed out. On an insert, the stainless liner is swept and the space around it checked.
Because the house has often just been finished, we treat the room accordingly: drop sheets over new floors, the opening sealed and the vacuum running throughout. If the fire smokes and the flue turns out to be clean, we say so and look at the air supply instead of selling a second sweep. Before and after photos come with every Thornbury job.
A full sweep of a reopened Thornbury period flue or the liner of a new insert, cameraed first, brushed to clean brick or steel, and photographed.
A Thornbury fireplace brought back in a renovation holds old soot on bare brick plus whatever dropped in while it was cold. We camera it before brushing so we know whether it is a sweep, a blockage clear or both, and photograph what comes out.
A wood heater insert in an Edwardian opening should have its own stainless liner, and that liner is what gets swept. We brush it end to end, check that it is sealed to the insert and say plainly if an insert has been fitted without one.
In an opened-up house with a big rangehood the fire loses the fight for air, and no sweep fixes that. If the flue is clean on camera we tell you the smoke is an air supply problem and what usually solves it.
Real photos from Melbourne jobs — not stock, not staged.
A freshly finished Thornbury living room deserves more care than a drop sheet thrown in the general direction of the hearth. The floor is covered edge to edge, the opening is sealed, and the vacuum runs from the first rod to the last.
The camera photos show the flue or liner before and after, and if the fireplace has been fitted with something that does not suit the flue, we say so with the photos rather than leaving you to find out in July.
Documented end to end — every job, every suburb.
We look at the firebox, flue and cap and assess the build-up.
Drop sheets down and the fireplace opening sealed.
Rods and a rotary brush clear the full length of the flue.
Soot and debris captured with contained, high-power vacuuming.
Draw and the cap confirmed; we tell you what we found.
Before and after photos, and the hearth left clean.
Verified 5-star reviews from across FreshDuct’s duct, heating, cooling and chimney services.
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The same local team covers the suburbs around Thornbury. Explore nearby areas and related FreshDuct chimney services.
Yes, and a look up it first. A flue that has stood idle for years still has its old soot and usually a nest or fallen mortar as well. We camera it, clear and sweep it to clean brick, and confirm it is open before you light the first fire.
The liner. It is what carries the smoke, so it is brushed end to end and checked where it meets the insert. We also look at the space between the liner and the old brick to make sure nothing has fallen in or been left there.
Fire authorities recommend an annual sweep before winter. If you burn most nights, burn unseasoned or soft wood, or run a heater on low for long periods, sooner.
Not with FreshDuct. We lay drop sheets, seal the fireplace opening and use contained, high-power vacuuming so the soot is captured rather than left in your living room.
A standard sweep clears regular soot and light creosote. A deep clean tackles heavy, baked-on or glazed creosote that a normal brush will not shift.
Send your details and the office confirms a window for Thornbury. No call-out fee, before and after photos, and honest advice on what your chimney needs and what it does not.
