How much does a chimney sweep earn?

Whether you’re starting out as a chimney sweep apprentice, you’re thinking about setting up as a self-employed chimney sweep, or you run your own chimney cleaning company – this guide is for you.

Keep reading to find out all about how much a chimney sweep can earn in the UK, including the average chimney sweep salary yearly, monthly, and more.

How much can a chimney sweep earn in the UK?

As a chimney sweep in the UK, you’re looking at an average chimney cleaner salary starting at around £11,060 as an apprentice. At the other end of the spectrum, you could earn on average £56,830 as a chimney sweep limited company owner.

The exact salary you can earn as a chimney sweep will depend on your qualifications, skills, experience, and where you’re based – as well as the size and complexity of the jobs you take on.

If you’re thinking about starting a chimney sweeping business (whether as a sole trader or a limited company), from the estimates below it’s clear that you can boost your earning potential as a chimney sweep with your own business.

What is the average chimney sweep salary per year?

To help you work out how much chimney sweep pay is in the UK, here are the estimated chimney sweep wages based on level of experience:

• Apprentice chimney sweep – £11,060 (£10,710 take home)
• Newly qualified chimney sweep – £21,900 (£18,380 take home)
• Employed chimney sweep – £43,680 (£33,200 take home)
• Sole trader chimney sweep – £53,100 (£35,270* take home)
• Chimney sweeping company owner – £56,830 (£37,510* take home)

Chimney sweep monthly salary

Based on the yearly earning figures above, we’ve calculated the average chimney sweep monthly salary in the UK:

• Apprentice – £1,092 per month
• Newly qualified – £2,161 per month
• Employed – £3,640 per month
• Sole trader – £6,240 per month
• Chimney sweeping limited company owner – £6,678 per month

How much does a chimney sweep earn per week?

As a weekly breakdown of wages, below you can see the average chimney sweep pay per week:

• Apprentice – £252 per week
• Newly qualified – £499 per week
• Employed – £840 per week
• Sole trader – £1,440 per week
• Chimney sweeping limited company owner – £1,541 per week

What is the average chimney sweep pay per day?

When you take the yearly chimney sweep salary and break it down to the day rate for chimney sweep pay, there are the average earnings you’re looking at:

• Apprentice – £50 per day
• Newly qualified – £100 per day
• Employed – £168 per day
• Sole trader – £288 per day
• Chimney sweeping limited company owner – £308 per day

How much does a chimney sweep earn per hour?

Due to the nature of chimney sweeping work, a lot of chimney sweeps are paid by the hour. Which means it’s useful to know how much the average chimney cleaner salary works out to be as an hourly rate:

• Apprentice – £6.30 per hour
• Newly qualified – £12.47 per hour
• Employed – £21.00 per hour
• Sole trader – £36.00 per hour
• Chimney sweeping limited company owner – £38.53 per hour

How to start a chimney sweep business

What is the average self-employed chimney sweep salary?

There’s no doubt that starting your own chimney sweeping business as a self-employed chimney sweep can massively boost how much money you can make.

Below are the average figures for the earning potential for self-employed chimney sweep wages in the UK:

• Hourly rate – £36.00 per hour
• Day rate – £288 per day
• Yearly salary – £53,100 per year
• Annual take-home pay – £35,270* per year

How much is the average chimney cleaner salary for an apprentice?

When starting out your career as a chimney sweep, you’ll most likely begin working as an apprentice. Here’s how much you could earn for your apprentice chimney sweep pay:

• Hourly rate – £6.30 per hour
• Day rate – £50 per day
• Yearly salary – £11,060 per year
• Annual take-home pay – £10,710 per year

What’s the average chimney sweeping business profit?

When it comes to running a chimney sweeping business, the revenue and profit you generate will depend on a number of factors – such as the size of your business, the amount of work you do, and how profitable each of your chimney sweeping jobs are.

To give you a rough idea of how much you could make, we’ve put together some estimates for chimney sweeping business revenue and profit figures.

Chimney sweeping business revenue

Here are some figures for the average chimney sweeping business revenue in the UK:

• Sole trader chimney sweep – £53,100 per year
• Chimney sweeping limited company – £56,830 per year

Chimney sweeping business profit

To work out your profit as a chimney sweeping business, whether as a sole trader or a limited company, you need to factor in the costs for running your business – such as your work vehicle, fuel, materials, tools and insurance, etc.

For a limited company, it’s important to factor in any staff wages as part of your business’s running costs.

After deducting your annual business costs, a self-employed chimney sweep can expect their chimney sweeping business profit (i.e. their take-home salary) to be somewhere in the region of £35,270* as a sole trader.

If you’re operating as a limited company, you’re looking at an average chimney sweeping business profit of around £37,510*.

Want tips to expand your chimney sweeping business? Check out our guide on how to grow your business:

How to grow your trade business in 2023 – Free guide included

How to make your chimney sweeping business more profitable

As a chimney sweeping business owner, you want to ensure that you’re making more from all the chimney sweeping work you’re doing. To do that you need to focus on the profitability of each job that you do.

To help you boost your profits, we’ve put together our top tips to make your chimney sweeping business more profitable:

1. Make sure you’re charging enough to cover your outgoings (including tools, materials, insurance, marketing, wages, fuel etc)
2. Focus on the jobs that make you the most money and require you to spend the least (for tools, materials, etc)
3. Limit how far you travel to avoid vehicle and fuel costs eating into your profits
4. Minimise your outgoings by trying to have no or as little debt as possible
5. Shop around for the best deals (like our member partnerships) on tools, equipment, materials and workwear
6. Get your business name out there through marketing (your website, customer reviews and SEO).
7. Provide the best customer experience to all your customers to build a strong reputation and win more work
8. Join a trade directory like Checkatrade to build your reviews and online reputation.

Expert tips to increase profits as a tradesperson

Become your own boss with your new chimney sweeping business

You could get your chimney sweeping business started with the help of our ‘Become the Boss’ series.

You’ll receive a series of emails with actionable tips. Seven emails in total (and a cheeky bonus email) featuring fellow tradespeople who were once in your position, a free business strategy call, and at the end of it all, you could be the founder of your new business. What’s not to love?

To get trade business insider secrets sent to your pocket, put your email address in the form below so we can help you to get started:

*Includes estimated business expenses such as vehicle, fuel, tools and insurance. You should always consult an accountant.