How We Rank Chimney Sweeps: Our Full Methodology
Every ranking on this site uses one open formula built from public data. This page explains each step, with a real example, so you can judge the rankings for yourself.
- 1,722sweeps ranked
- 818towns
- 103counties
- 58,624reviews analysed
- 9 October 2026last refreshed
1. Where the Data Comes From
We collect public business information from Google Maps listings for chimney sweeps across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. For each business we hold its name, address, postcode, phone number, website, opening hours, review count and, where available, its star rating and whether the owner has verified the profile.
We do not scrape private data, buy lead lists or accept payment to add a business to the rankings.
2. How We Clean It
Our last import started with 10,443 raw search results and kept 1,722 genuine chimney sweeps. Map searches return a lot of noise, such as landmarks, hotels and shops near the search area, so most of the work is removing what is not a sweep.
- Relevance filter. A business is kept only if its name or website clearly describes chimney sweeping. Venues that merely mention chimneys are removed.
- Closed businesses. Anything marked permanently closed is dropped.
- Duplicates. The same business found by several searches is merged, keeping the record with the most reviews.
- Location. Every postcode is checked against the official postcode database to confirm the nation and county. Councils are mapped to the counties people actually search for, so Medway sits in Kent and Stockport in Greater Manchester.
- Tidying. Phone numbers are formatted to UK style, tracking codes are stripped from website links, social media pages are not treated as websites, and names are cleaned of capitalisation errors.
| Removed at import | Count |
|---|---|
| Not a chimney sweep | 8,697 |
| Venue, not a sweep | 8 |
| No coordinates or postcode | 5 |
| Could not geocode | 10 |
| Outside GB/NI | 1 |
3. The Sweep Score
Sweep Score = 0.6 × Recommendation + 0.4 × Trust
Both parts run from 0 to 10, so the Sweep Score does too. It is rounded to one decimal place.
Recommendation (60%)
Where a star rating is available, we use it but pull it toward a 4.5 star average using a 25 review prior. In plain terms, a sweep needs a decent number of reviews before its rating counts in full. This stops a perfect score from three reviews outranking 4.9 stars from three hundred. The adjusted rating is then scaled so 3.5 stars scores 0 and 5.0 stars scores 10.
Where no star rating is available, this part is based on review volume on a log scale, where 500 reviews scores 10. Each extra review counts for a little less than the one before, so one very busy sweep cannot run away with the table. Our current data set does not include star ratings, so this volume method is in use on every page today.
Trust (40%)
Trust measures how complete and checkable a profile is. Homeowners are better protected when they can see who they are dealing with.
| Signal | Points | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Owner verified profile | 2 | Shows the business has confirmed it controls the listing |
| Phone number published | 2 | You can speak to someone before you book |
| Website | 2 | Somewhere to check services, prices and accreditations |
| Opening hours published | 2 | Signals an active, organised business |
| Review volume | 0 to 2 | Scaled up to 100 reviews |
Confidence
Each score carries a confidence label based on review count: high with 50 or more reviews (275 sweeps), medium with 10 to 49 (618), and low under 10 (829). Low confidence does not mean a poor sweep, only that there is less evidence either way.
Ties
When two sweeps share a score, the one with more reviews ranks first, then alphabetical order.
4. Worked Example: D. Williams and Son Chimney Sweep
Here is how the score for D. Williams and Son Chimney Sweep in Whitby is calculated from its public data.
Recommendation: 10
979 Google reviews on the log scale: log(979 + 1) ÷ log(501) × 10 = 10.
Trust: 8
- Owner verified profile0
- Phone number published2
- Website2
- Opening hours published2
- Review volume (979 of 100)2
0.6 × 10 + 0.4 × 8
9.2Sweep Score · high confidenceBest for: Homeowners who want a sweep with a long track record5. Best For, Strengths and Watch Outs
Every ranked sweep gets three short notes. They are generated by fixed rules from the same data, never written by hand and never paid for.
- Best for picks the most fitting description, for example "Saturday appointments" only when Saturday hours are published, or "a long track record" only with 150 or more reviews.
- Strengths lists up to four facts that check out in the data, such as a published phone number or a trade body named in the listing.
- Watch out for flags the most useful thing to ask about: no reviews yet, hours not published, no website, or simply that insurance and membership are not shown in public data.
6. How Pages Are Built
- Town pages rank every sweep based in that town. The page title states the exact number ranked.
- County pages rank every sweep in the county and link to every town.
- Nation pages show the top 25 sweeps in the nation and link to every county.
- Business pages show the full score breakdown, the sweep's rank in its town and links to every other town in the county.
Written guidance on each page is produced with the help of AI from that page's own data, with strict rules against inventing local facts, reviews, credentials or prices. Facts on the page, such as review counts and scores, always come straight from the data.
7. Prices
Price tables are typical UK guide ranges, not quotes from any listed business. We start from a national baseline (for example £60 to £90 for a standard open fire sweep) and adjust it by region to reflect local running costs:
| Region | Adjustment |
|---|---|
| London | +25% |
| South East | +12% |
| East of England | +6% |
| South West | +2% |
| Scotland | -2% |
| West Midlands | -3% |
| East Midlands | -4% |
| North West | -6% |
| Yorkshire and The Humber | -7% |
| Wales | -7% |
| North East | -9% |
| Northern Ireland | -10% |
Always confirm the price with your sweep before they visit.
8. How We Make Money
The directory is free for homeowners. Sweeps can pay for optional plans from £10 a month, which add a Claimed or Featured badge, a followed link to their website, and placement in a separate box labelled "Featured" on town or county pages.
Paid plans never change the Sweep Score or a sweep's position in the ranked list. Featured boxes are always labelled as paid placement. See the plans.
9. Limitations
- Public data can be out of date. A sweep may have changed its hours or number since our last refresh.
- Reviews measure customer experience, not technical quality. They are a useful signal, not a guarantee.
- We cannot verify insurance, qualifications or trade body membership. Always ask for proof.
- Some excellent sweeps work entirely by word of mouth and may not appear on Google Maps at all.
10. Methodology FAQs
Can a business pay to rank higher?
No. The ranked list on every page is ordered by Sweep Score only. Paid plans add a clearly labelled Featured box, a badge and a followed website link, but never change the score or the position in the ranking.
Why is a sweep with fewer reviews ranked above one with more?
The Sweep Score also rewards a complete profile. A sweep with a website, published hours and a phone number can outscore a busier sweep whose profile is missing those details.
How often is the data refreshed?
Listings were last refreshed on 9 October 2026. We re-import public data regularly and every page shows its own refresh date.
My business is missing or wrong. How do I fix it?
Use the Claim it button on your listing. Claiming and editing a listing needs a paid plan from £10 a month, which you can cancel at any time.
Do you check qualifications and insurance?
No. We only show trade body memberships that a business names in its own public listing, and we say so. Always ask a sweep for proof of membership and insurance before booking.