A chimney technician sweeps fireplace, wood stove and furnace flues, inspects each chimney while cleaning it, and makes small repairs like caps and dampers. They work in homeowners' living rooms and on their roofs, and they write up what they find so the office can quote the repairs.
By the HireBus team · Updated · Pay data: BLS, May 2025
Median pay, building services companies · BLS, May 2025
Our company is seeking a skilled Chimney Technician to join our team. This role contributes to the safety and comfort of our customers' homes by providing quality chimney and fireplace services. The Chimney Technician's key responsibilities include sweeping, conducting minor repairs, and diagnosing structural issues.
2. Essential Duties and Responsibilities
Conduct comprehensive chimney sweeps and cleaning.
Perform minor repairs on chimneys and fireplaces.
Diagnose structural issues and provide solutions.
Ensure all services and procedures comply with relevant safety regulations.
3. Key Tasks / Daily Activities
Inspect and diagnose chimney and fireplace issues.
Provide customers with detailed explanations of services and repairs.
Maintain an organized and clean work environment.
Complete all necessary paperwork and documentation.
4. Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
Customer Satisfaction Rating: >4.8 stars.
Number of jobs completed per week: 15.
Issue diagnosis accuracy: >90%.
Safety Compliance: 100%.
5. Required Qualifications and Skills
High school diploma or equivalent.
1-2 years of experience in a similar role.
Strong communication and customer service skills.
Knowledge of safety regulations and procedures.
6. Preferred Experience
Experience in the home services or construction industry.
Experience or certification in chimney masonry or repair.
7. Physical Requirements
Ability to lift up to 50 lbs.
Comfortable working in confined spaces.
8. Work Environment and Schedule
Typical work hours are Monday through Friday, 8 AM to 5 PM.
Some weekend and on-call duties may be required.
9. Compensation and Benefits
Hourly rate: $18-$25, based on experience.
Potential for performance-based bonuses.
Benefits include Health, Dental, Vision, and 401k.
10. Company Culture and Overview
Our company values growth, teamwork, and customer satisfaction. We provide our team with continuous training opportunities and a supportive work environment to ensure their success. We pride ourselves on our commitment to our customers and our high-quality home services.
11. How to Apply
If you meet the above criteria and want to be part of a growth-oriented company focused on customer satisfaction, please send your resume to [INSERT EMAIL HERE] or apply online at [INSERT WEBSITE LINK HERE].
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Plenty of service jobs are about cleaning. A sweep's visit also decides whether a family can safely light a fire this winter, so every cleaning comes with an inspection and a written record.
Creosote is the fuel for a chimney fire
Wood smoke cools as it rises and leaves creosote on the flue walls. CSIA says it can be crusty and flaky, sticky and tar-like, or shiny and hard, and that every form is highly combustible. Wet wood, a damper that isn't fully open and a stove turned down for a long burn all add to it. CSIA also says most chimney fires go unnoticed until a later sweep finds cracked tiles or loose mortar. Source: CSIA: Preventing chimney fires.
A Level 1 inspection rides along with each sweep
CSIA's procedure for a routine sweep is a Level 1 inspection, one of three levels defined in NFPA 211. The technician checks the parts that can be reached without tools, makes sure the flue is clear, and sweeps once buildup reaches 1/8 inch. Signs of a past chimney fire get photographed before sweeping, and the technician recommends a Level 2, noting it if the customer says no. The customer signs the report at the end. Source: CSIA standard operating procedure: Level 1 inspection of a masonry chimney.
Gas and oil flues need care too
Not every call is a wood fireplace. CSIA warns that many gas appliances now vent into chimneys that once served oil furnaces, and their exhaust is harder on the flue. Clay liners can flake under it and block the flue, and oil flues collect soot. Either problem can push carbon monoxide into the house, so a technician has to read a furnace flue as well as a fireplace. Source: CSIA: Avoiding carbon monoxide hazards.
Which OSHA fall rule covers a sweep
OSHA's general industry rule requires guardrails, a net or personal fall protection where a worker could fall 4 feet or more from an unprotected edge. Routine sweeping looks like that kind of service work, but the question isn't settled: in a 1997 letter, OSHA applied its construction fall rules to a chimney cleaner who steps off a roof ladder. The safe plan is fall protection from 4 feet up on every roof. Source: 29 CFR 1910.28: Duty to have fall protection (eCFR).
Every customer calls when the weather turns
CSIA quotes NFPA 211: chimneys, fireplaces and vents shall be inspected at least once a year. The CPSC also urges a yearly professional inspection of fireplaces, wood stoves, chimneys and flues. Many homeowners book it after the first cold night, so fall weeks run full and long, while spring and summer lean toward repairs. Source: CPSC: Home heating equipment and carbon monoxide.
How much chimney technicians make
The closest BLS group for chimney technicians is building cleaning workers. Building cleaning workers who work for building and home services companies earned a median of $21.37 an hour ($44,450 a year) in May 2025, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That’s about the same as the $44,040 median for building cleaning workers in all industries. About 12,080 of the 17,210 building cleaning workers in that survey work for building services companies.
Hourly with overtime and a results bonus, as the template sets out. A commission on repairs a technician finds is another option. If you pay one, check each finding against the photos, so nobody earns more by calling for a reline the flue can do without.
Building services companies
$44,450$44,450 median Middle half $37,440–$53,310 10th–90th $33,540–$72,340
All industries
$44,040$44,040 median Middle half $37,440–$50,410 10th–90th $32,370–$64,030
$20k$30k$40k$50k$60k$70k$80k
10th–90th percentileMiddle halfMedianAnnual pay, May 2025. Source: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics.
Annual pay by percentile
Group
10th
25th
Median
75th
90th
Building services companies
$33,540
$37,440
$44,450
$53,310
$72,340
All industries
$32,370
$37,440
$44,040
$50,410
$64,030
BLS doesn’t publish pay for chimney sweeps on their own. These figures cover services to buildings and dwellings, which include them. Post a real range for your market in the ad.
The pay line in the template above is an example from our Role Blueprint. Set yours from these figures and what local companies pay.
Skills to hire for, and what you can teach
Hire for these
Works carefully on steep roofs and tall ladders, and ties off without being reminded
Keeps a living room clean while sweeping: drop cloths down, the opening sealed, the soot vacuum running
Spots creosote glaze, cracked flue tiles and nest debris, and knows when to stop and ask for a closer look
Walks a homeowner through the photos and findings without scaring them or overselling
Fills out the inspection report completely on every job
Teach these on the job
Rotary and rod-and-brush sweeping methods
Running the chimney camera and saving clips to the job
Cap, damper and chase cover installs
Your job software, report forms and price book
The CSIA review and exam for the Certified Chimney Sweep credential
Dryer vent cleaning, if you offer it
Technicians carry rods and brushes (often a rotary system), a vacuum built for soot, drop cloths, a strong light and a chimney video camera, plus ladders and roof fall gear. Reports, photos and payment usually go through a tablet or phone app. Tell applicants whether the truck, camera and fall gear are company-owned or theirs to bring.
Chimney technician interview questions
Two of the 6 questions we'd ask, and what a strong answer sounds like. Ask every candidate the same questions, and rate each answer on your own before you compare notes.
Situational · Recognizing signs of a chimney fire
During a sweep, you find puffy, honeycomb-like creosote and a cracked flue tile. The homeowner mentions a loud, roaring fire last winter. What do you do and tell them?
A strong answer: Recognizes signs of a past chimney fire, advises not using the fireplace until a Level 2 inspection with video is done, photographs everything and calmly explains what was found and what repairs may follow.
Behavioral · Explaining unsafe conditions
Tell me about a time you had to tell a customer that something in their home wasn't safe to use. How did you explain it?
A strong answer: Used plain words and photos, gave options without pressure, documented it and checked that the customer understood.
Sweeps per week swing hard with the season, so a packed October and a quiet April can't share one target. Track a whole year before you set your own numbers from the template's.
Customer Satisfaction Rating
Average star rating on jobs this technician led, from post-job surveys and public reviews. The written comments tell you more: mess left behind, late arrivals, findings nobody explained.
Number of jobs completed per week
Sweeps, inspections and small repairs closed in your job software each week. Compare fall weeks with fall weeks, and weigh a camera inspection differently from a quick cap install.
Issue diagnosis accuracy
How often a master technician or the repair crew confirms this technician's findings on the follow-up visit. Problems missed and found later count against it, and so do repairs recommended but not needed.
Safety Compliance
Spot checks on roofs and in homes: fall gear worn and tied off, ladders secured, drop cloths and dust control in place. Write up every incident or near miss and review it with the technician.
Career path
Apprentice / helperCarries gear, lays drop cloths and learns to sweep beside a technician.
Chimney TechnicianSweeps, inspects and makes small repairs on a daily route.
Does a chimney technician need CSIA certification?
The template doesn't require it; it lists experience or certification in chimney masonry or repair as a plus. The Certified Chimney Sweep credential comes from CSIA, the Chimney Safety Institute of America, not a government agency. A sweep takes a CSIA review (a six-day academy, a one-day class or a self-paced online course) and passes the exam. The credential runs on a three-year cycle, and holders renew by retesting or by earning CSIA's continuing education credits.
How much does a chimney technician make?
Building cleaning workers who work for building and home services companies earned a median of $21.37 an hour ($44,450 a year) in May 2025, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The middle half earned between $37,440 and $53,310 a year. Pay also depends on your local market, experience and overtime.
What happens on a typical chimney sweep call?
The technician lays drop cloths, seals the fireplace opening and starts the vacuum. They look over the firebox, damper and smoke chamber, then sweep from the top or the bottom, listening for odd sounds that could mean a separated flue. Many run a camera up the flue. Before leaving, they go over the report with the customer, point out anything that needs repair, and ask for a signature.
Can I hire a chimney technician with no chimney experience?
One to two years in a similar role is the template's bar, and roofers, gutter cleaners and HVAC helpers often fit. They already work on ladders and roofs and in customers' homes. What they lack is knowing what a bad flue looks like. Pair them with a master technician through one fall season before they run a route alone.
Why do chimney technicians use a camera?
Most of a flue can't be seen from the firebox or the top. CSIA's Level 1 procedure says video scanning isn't required, but many companies offer it to add value and to document the job. Saved clips back up the technician's findings when a homeowner, a home inspector or an insurance adjuster asks what was there.
