How to Start a Carpentry Business in Canada
Start a carpentry business in Canada: trade certification, Quebec rules, business registration, insurance, workers' compensation, and pricing structure.
How to Start a Chimney Sweep Business in Canada
Start a chimney sweep business in Canada: earn WETT certification, learn the fire code inspection cycle, build a seasonal route, and price sweeps, inspections, and repairs as separate services.
Applies in: across Canada
The short answer
A chimney sweep business is a seasonal route business built on one credential: WETT certification. No province licences chimney sweeps directly, but insurers and customers ask for WETT-certified people by name, and only certified individuals — not companies — hold the credential. The work itself is straightforward: clean flues, inspect systems, report findings in writing, and come back every year. The business skill is managing the season: booking hard in late summer and fall, selling annual reminders, and building referral work that carries the quiet months. Get certified, equip a van for the chimney types in your area, and sell inspections as well as sweeps, because a brush alone leaves the higher-value work on the table.
Step 1: Learn the trade and earn WETT certification
WETT, Wood Energy Technology Transfer, is the Canadian certification body for wood-burning appliance installation, maintenance, and inspection. It certifies individuals in categories including SITE Basic Inspector, Technician, Chimney Sweep, and SITE Comprehensive Inspector. A Chimney Sweep can clean and maintain the whole wood-burning system, including sweeping the chimney, and can perform Level 1 and Level 2 inspections. A SITE Comprehensive Inspector can perform Level 1, Level 2, and Level 3 inspections as well.
The Chimney Sweep path requires the Code Compliance, Wood-burning Systems, and SITE Inspection courses in that order, the two-day Chimney Sweeping course, and a verifiable declaration of 80 weeks of industry experience including at least 30 sweeps of wood-burning appliances, backed by a signed letter of reference. That experience requirement means most new sweeps start by working for an established sweep or installer, logging real sweeps, and then certifying — not by taking a course and opening the next week. Plan for that apprenticeship period in your timeline and your finances.
Step 2: Register the business and set up tax and insurance
Register the business name in the province where you will work: $60 for five years in Ontario, $40 plus a $30 name request in British Columbia, with other provinces in the same range. Get a Canada Revenue Agency business number, which is free, and register for GST/HST once your taxable supplies pass $30,000 over four consecutive calendar quarters or $30,000 in a single calendar quarter. Carry liability insurance that names chimney and roof work specifically, and tell the insurer you work at height on roofs, or the claim you need most may be the one the policy does not cover. A municipal business licence is required where your city requires one for trades contractors; check the city where your business is based and the cities where you work, since mobile trades can need more than one licence.
Step 3: Equip a van for sweeps, inspections, and roof work
Buy for the chimney types in your area, not for a catalogue. Masonry chimneys, factory-built metal chimneys, wood stoves, pellet stoves, oil flues, and gas flues each need different brushes and different care, and a rural route with wood heat looks nothing like a city route with gas fireplaces. The core kit is brushes and rods, a vacuum built for fine soot, drop cloths and a dust-control routine that keeps a customer's living room clean, ladders rated for the roofs you will climb, and fall protection for steep or high roofs. Add a chimney camera once inspection work justifies it: a photo of a cracked liner or a blocked flue sells the repair and documents the finding in a way words cannot. Keep the van organized so a route of several homes a day runs without unloading and reloading at every stop.
Step 4: Build a route around the heating season
Demand follows the weather. Late summer and fall carry inspections and sweeps as homeowners prepare for winter, and winter brings urgent calls: smoke spilling into rooms, blocked flues, and work after a chimney fire. Ontario's Fire Code states the inspection cycle that drives repeat work: every chimney, flue, and flue pipe inspected at intervals not greater than 12 months, at the time an appliance is added, and after any chimney fire, and cleaned as often as necessary to keep them free from combustible deposits. That annual cycle is your route: pre-book the next visit at the end of each job, send reminders before the heating season, and keep a winter list for urgent calls. Spring and summer work — caps, crowns, flashing checks, and animal guards — fills the quiet months, and referrals from home inspectors, real estate agents, and insurers bring inspection work year-round.
Step 5: Sell inspections as well as sweeps
A sweep and an inspection are different services, and pricing them separately is how the business grows. A sweep cleans soot and creosote. An inspection checks the liner, crown, cap, flashing, clearances to combustibles, and the appliance installation, and produces a written report with photos. Homebuyers need inspections before closing, insurers need them before covering wood-heated homes, and homeowners need them after a chimney fire or when an appliance is added. Report every job in writing: what you cleaned, what you found, what needs repair, and what can wait. A written report protects the customer, supports an insurance file, and turns a one-time sweep into a customer who calls you every year. Never sell a brush-only visit as an inspection, and never guess about a liner you cannot see: camera it, photograph it, or say plainly that it needs a closer look.
Step 6: Work safely on roofs and around heat
Roof work and hot systems carry the real risk in this trade. Use fall protection on steep or high roofs, check ladder footing and roof conditions before climbing, and never sweep a chimney serving an appliance that is running hot. Keep soot and creosote contained, ventilate the work area, and leave the home cleaner than you found it. If you find a cracked liner, a blocked flue, or clearances that fail, say so in the report and do not use the appliance until it is repaired — and put that advice in writing. For masonry or liner repairs beyond sweeping, partner with a qualified mason or installer until your own training and volume justify doing that work yourself. A sweep who reports honestly and fixes nothing beyond their skill keeps customers; a sweep who guesses loses them.
Related guides: How to Start a Roofing Business in Canada, How to Start an HVAC Business in Canada, How to Become a Home Inspector in Ontario, and How to Start an Electrician Business in Canada.
Starting a chimney sweep business in Canada, in six steps
- Learn the trade and earn WETT certificationWETT certification is the credential insurers and customers ask for. The Chimney Sweep path needs the two-day Chimney Sweeping course plus 80 weeks of industry experience including at least 30 sweeps.
- Register the business and set up tax and insuranceRegister the business name, get a Canada Revenue Agency business number, and carry liability insurance that names chimney work. Register for GST/HST once taxable supplies pass $30,000 over four consecutive calendar quarters, or $30,000 in a single quarter.
- Equip a van for sweeps, inspections, and roof workBrushes and rods, a vacuum built for soot, a chimney camera, ladders, and fall protection are the core kit. Buy for the chimney types in your area: masonry, factory-built, wood, pellet, oil, and gas.
- Build a route around the heating seasonDemand peaks before winter and after cold snaps. Book inspections and sweeps in late summer and fall, sell annual reminders, and keep a winter list for urgent calls.
- Sell inspections as well as sweepsA sweep cleans. An inspection finds cracked liners, blocked flues, and bad clearances. WETT-certified sweeps can perform Level 1 and Level 2 inspections, which is work a brush alone cannot sell.
- Report every job in writingA written report with photos, findings, and recommended repairs protects the customer, supports insurance claims, and turns a one-time sweep into a repeat customer.
Verified figures for a chimney sweep start
| Ontario business name registration | $60 for 5 years |
|---|---|
| British Columbia business name registration | $40 plus a $30 name request |
| Canada Revenue Agency business number | $0 — free |
| WETT Chimney Sweep certification course length | 2 days |
| WETT Chimney Sweep experience requirement | 80 weeks including at least 30 sweeps |
WETT course fees are charged by WETT and its course providers and are not listed here, because no fee is published. Municipal business licence fees vary by city. This is not legal advice: certification and fire code rules vary by province, so confirm the current requirements where you will work.
Questions people ask
Do I need a licence to be a chimney sweep in Canada?
No province issues a chimney sweep licence, but the credential that matters is WETT certification. WETT, Wood Energy Technology Transfer, certifies individuals, not companies, so a company can only advertise WETT-certified staff if the person doing the work holds the certification. The Chimney Sweep path requires the Code Compliance, Wood-burning Systems, and SITE Inspection courses, the two-day Chimney Sweeping course, and a verifiable declaration of 80 weeks of industry experience including at least 30 sweeps of wood-burning appliances, with a signed letter of reference. Insurers commonly ask for a WETT-certified inspection before covering a home heated with wood, which is why customers ask for the credential by name. On top of certification, you need a municipal business licence where your city requires one, and liability insurance that names chimney and roof work.
How often should a chimney be inspected and cleaned?
Ontario's Fire Code gives the clearest stated cycle: every chimney, flue, and flue pipe must be inspected to identify any dangerous condition at intervals not greater than 12 months, at the time an appliance is added, and after any chimney fire, and chimneys, flues, and flue pipes must be cleaned as often as necessary to keep them free from accumulations of combustible deposits. That is the inspection rule for the building, not a sweep schedule for every home, and other provinces and fire codes set their own cycles, so check the fire code where you work. In practice, wood-burning chimneys used all winter need a sweep before the heating season and an inspection at least once a year, while a lightly used gas flue may need inspection without a full sweep. Sell the annual inspection as the standing appointment, and let what you find decide whether a sweep is due.
What is the difference between a sweep and a WETT inspection?
A sweep cleans: brushes, rods, and a vacuum remove soot and creosote from the flue, firebox, and smoke chamber. An inspection assesses: it checks the liner, crown, cap, flashing, clearances to combustibles, and the appliance installation against the code, and it produces a written report. WETT defines inspection levels, and a WETT-certified Chimney Sweep can perform Level 1 and Level 2 inspections, while a SITE Comprehensive Inspector can perform Level 1, Level 2, and Level 3 inspections. A Level 1 inspection covers readily accessible parts, while a Level 2 inspection adds a camera look inside the flue and checks in concealed areas. Price them separately: a customer who only needs a sweep should not pay for a camera inspection, and a homebuyer or insurer who needs a report should not get a brush-only visit sold as an inspection.
What equipment do I need to start a chimney sweep business?
Start with brushes and rods sized for the flue types in your area, a vacuum built to handle fine soot without blowing it through the house, drop cloths and a dust-control routine, ladders rated for roof work, and fall protection for steep or high roofs. Add a chimney camera once inspection work justifies it, because a camera turns a guess about a liner crack into a photo the customer can see. A van or truck that carries ladders, rods, and a vacuum without unloading at every job saves time on a route of several homes a day. Do not buy a full masonry repair rig at the start: partner with a mason for crown and liner repairs, or sublet that work, until repair volume justifies the tools and the training.
Is chimney sweeping seasonal work?
Yes, and the season decides your cash flow. Most homeowners think about their chimney when the weather turns cold, so late summer and fall carry the bulk of inspections and sweeps, and winter brings urgent calls after cold snaps, chimney fires, and smoke problems. The operators who smooth the year sell annual reminders and pre-book the next sweep at the end of each visit, take on spring and summer work such as caps, crowns, and animal-guard installation, and build relationships with home inspectors, real estate agents, and insurers who refer inspection work year-round. Price the business on a full year, not on a busy October, and keep a cash reserve for the quiet months.
Do I need GST/HST registration for a chimney sweep business?
Chimney sweeping and inspection services are taxable supplies, so once your taxable supplies pass $30,000 over four consecutive calendar quarters, or $30,000 in a single calendar quarter, you must register for GST/HST and charge it on your services. You have 29 days from the day you pass the threshold to register, and registration is free through the Canada Revenue Agency. Many tradespeople register voluntarily before the threshold so they can claim input tax credits on tools, vehicle costs, and supplies. If you operate in Quebec, you also deal with QST. Keep business and personal vehicle costs separate from the start, because a van used for both is a bookkeeping problem at filing time.
Sources
- Wood Energy Technology Transfer, Additional WETT Certifications — Chimney Sweep path: two-day Chimney Sweeping course, 80 weeks including at least 30 sweeps, letter of reference —
- Ontario, O. Reg. 213/07, Fire Code, section 2.6.1.4 and 2.6.1.5 — chimney inspection at intervals not greater than 12 months, at appliance addition, and after a chimney fire; cleaning as often as necessary —
- Canada Revenue Agency, Business Registration Online — business number and GST/HST account registration, free —