We Found 10 YEARS of Birds' Nests in our Cottage Chimney

[@BramblesCottage]

Clearing our chimney of birds' nests has taught us at LEAST one thing, we need to use bigger dust sheets. Let us know any tips you have if you've done this job yourself too.

[@hopewalker5764]

You need to get it swept as the black stuff is creosote and it combusts in heat. Hence liners.

[@hopewalker5764]

Invest in a shop vac

[@hopewalker5764]

Canvas tarps are ideal for this work plus plastic to seal off the space.

[@MargaretsIndianaGarden]

That was WILD! I loved Bramble and Suki in front of the fireplace. They *really* wanted that jackdaw! LOL Hope you two have a beautiful holiday season

[@BramblesCottage]

It's the closest they've ever got to a real bird so they were super interested. All the best for the holidays to you too!

[@AbigailGerlach-zt1sh]

May I suggest buying yourself a huge piece of sheet plastic. It's good for so many odd jobs. In addition, a bit of soap and warm water will clean the plastic for your next job. It's easier to wash than a blanket! The stove looks good! You did a great job! I'm sure you know that most DIY stores have an excess of pallets they usually sell cheap. Much better than buying wood which is ridiculously expensive. Pallets are so useful for so many projects. One KZbin channel I watch built an entire room and deck out of pallets! Keep up the good work! I think you're making amazing progress.

[@BramblesCottage]

Haha 😂, we actually own TWO large tarpaulins, ...but they're still lost in a box or cupboard somewhere. We remain in a state of post-move chaos for the foreseeable and our long-suffering blanket was near to hand. Thanks for the tip re. pallets. We've picked some up in the past for projects where we used to live, but they were surprisingly difficult to find going spare. Must explore local businesses here to see what they have to offer. - Stina

[@sandraford4235]

Years ago we lived in a Victorian house.The 2 bedroom fireplaces were blocked over by the previous tenants over 25 years ago , so I decided to to see what was behind the boards .I managed to get the boards off and found two lovely cast iron fireplaces behind .They were full to the top with twigs and grit ,I thought of hovering up but it blocked the Hoover .Later on after bags and bags of twigs I cleared the chimneys ,

[@BramblesCottage]

Excellent work!! It always surprises me what people will block over with plaster board just to give a basic square room with no period features.

[@carolinebrown9693]

Yes, stove restoration please!

[@anneslovingtodiy7512]

Pin a sheet over your fireplace and work with the sheet lowered. If the soot falls the sheet will contain it.

[@BramblesCottage]

Hopefully won't need to do this again but if we do we'll have a much better idea what to expect.

[@slashingbison2503]

yep this is how my chimney guy does it, like pitching a tent around it , it gets 90s of the dust but still it was all over the room. greta job doing it yoursleves its such a messy job.

[@Sag3w0man]

Just subscribed to your channel. Masks are good. Eye protection is better. Love your cats. I have three indoor cats, named MilkShake, LilBit, and Chance. Pumpkin is the outdoor cat that was the landlords cat.

[@BramblesCottage]

Aw thank you! Say hello to your cats for us (we're a bit cat mad round here)

[@romystumpy1197]

I'm looking forward to your journey,this is right up my alley

[@fionasmall4384]

Wow those Jackdaws have been busy well done guys 👏👏👏

[@BramblesCottage]

Yeah, it was just solid dirt after a while, can only assume they had established a solid base and just kept adding padding and liners.

[@zedjay81]

Crikey what a nest! Mr and Mrs Jackdaw have been busy. Loving the videos and being new to your adventures im just catching up!

[@BramblesCottage]

Welcome! Our adventure is just getting started really but we have big plans :)

[@zedjay81]

@BrambleCottageMiniHomestead can't wait to follow along.

[@essie2335]

I caught myself holding my breath so I didn’t breathe in the dust when you were cleaning the chimney 😅. Great videos, enjoying your journey!

[@BramblesCottage]

Haha, yes 😂. Even with masks the air was barely breathable at times. We spent more than just a few minutes hanging out of the window between bouts of de-nesting. - Stina

[@rontanser9369]

Congratulations on getting your property, Something important I feel is does it have modern standards of insulation especially now with energy prices been so expensive the more insulation you have the warmer the house will stay

[@BramblesCottage]

The house is mostly pretty good on insulation, not too leaky either, but there's a lot that can be improved to make it better.

[@LifeOnTheCroft]

I love that log store you got. The fireplace looks lovely and cosy at the end, that will definitely help as we wait for Spring to return!

[@BramblesCottage]

Yes, spring feels a long way away, biggest difficulty now is finding some wood to season ready for next year. - Cameron

[@fernunrau7315]

Hi there. Really enjoying your video. That is a lot of nest you’ve pulled out of that chimney. I live in Minneapolis Minnesota and love to see how others live. Wishing you all the best in your endeavors.

[@BramblesCottage]

Hello from Scotland!! Yeah it was a lot of nest, still cleaning the dust off things we didn't even think it could get to.

[@74quo]

Your bloke ain't daft,sending you on the roof🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@BramblesCottage]

Shhh! Don't give me away! 😉 - Cameron

[@margaretkennedy6719]

Impressive 🎉

[@BramblesCottage]

Thank you ☺️

[@TheAwakeningangel]

Oh you are a Brave girl, I obviously was tensed up watching you as I hate hights also have Vertigo, so what a relief when you came down as I was like Ouch lol, LOVE The wrought iron and it fits perfect in the room. And boy oh boy what a lot of dust and twigs, I seen the comment about the price for sweep and nest he was trying it on as no way it would cost that, so in a way I am glad you saved by doing it yourself. Remember Carbon monoxide detectors please. It looked lovey at the end but I would def get more wood asap as you will go through that in no time. xxxxx Dede xxxxx

[@BramblesCottage]

Stina is far better at these things than me, I got up there and my legs just flat out said "nope". We have detectors in place, got to think safety first 😀

[@tangelamoore8844]

I love your Bramble cottage and inhabitants 🥰

[@BramblesCottage]

Thank you, we love our Bramble Cottage (and the Bramble kitten) too!

[@annaviola3392]

Love your videos and your sweet homestead. 🎉

[@BramblesCottage]

Thank you so much! We're so glad you're enjoying them ☺️

[@gillianlaing1073]

Love the log store, so I quess the last owners didn't get the chimney swept every year 😮

[@BramblesCottage]

Before we moved in, the house had been a rental property for about 20 years and the management company did so many things badly (or not at all) that it didn't surprise us that this was in the awful state it was 😔

[@annamariegreene3736]

It would be great if you go to the charity shop and get some old sheets .😊

[@BramblesCottage]

That would have been smart, I don't think we were expecting it to be so bad. Hindsight is 20/20 of course lol

[@helenbailey8419]

​​@@BramblesCottagedampen them slightly,it holds the mess better.Plastic sheeting is good too.Mattress wrapping etc or cardboard then you can compost it

[@BramblesCottage]

Dampening them is a top idea! Will be taking note of that for the future renovations.

[@sylviabradley7355]

Incredible! Nicely done.

[@BramblesCottage]

Glad you liked it!

[@jacquelinemcgowan8164]

Still laugh at when Laurel and Hardy clean out the chimney and use a rifle has an extention and the gun goes off and hardy is blown off the roof, thank you for sharing your adventures

[@BramblesCottage]

Some of the classic humour is the best, I can't think I've seen that scene but it does give a great visual in my mind of how it'd play out.

[@NAn-r9i]

Just found your channel and subscribed now to see your other videos

[@debpate9405]

I hope you replaced to gasket on the livingroom wood stove. Very important. Good job cleaning the chimney , if the twigs had caught fire it would have been bad. Do you have several smoke detectors??

[@BramblesCottage]

The gasket wasn't in the best state but I'm holding off on replacing that for now as we got a good seal on the current one. In Scotland it's a requirement to have a smoke detection system in place so thankfully that's already there and tested. I had to but a monoxide detector though, but we got that set up not long after we moved in. Hopefully we've got most bases covered 😁

[@FrederickBowdler]

Birds are genetically programmed to keep building a nest until itstops collapsing so in a season you can easily get 2 or three large bags

[@BramblesCottage]

Wow, that's kind of surprising. What we found in the chimney was mostly compacted dust and lining. Only the first meter or so was what seemed to be structure.

[@christinedrumm973]

Stove needs a smaller outlet to save heat

[@christinedrumm973]

Stove pipes that i We have a wood stove to heat the house We find it needs cleaning every year

[@BramblesCottage]

Thanks for the tips!

[@hopewalker5764]

Stove restoration video would be cool

[@margaretkennedy6719]

Stove video PLEASE 😊

[@rosemarymee]

Gosh you were brave to clamber up onto your roof. 😮

[@BramblesCottage]

So brave! 😂 I didn't feel brave on the first attempt once I saw over the top and knew I'd have to somehow straddle the ridge, but it was honestly fine via the other route that avoided that. We did wonder if we'd have to call in a roofer at one point though. - Stina

[@M-LFC491]

Hi Guys, just subscribed. Would be great to know a bit more about you two, your backgrounds, and why you came to D&G from the North east of Scotland. Nice to have a bit of context. I will be moving to Scotland soon, and love the west coast but it is so wet....Why did you choose the west coast over east. Looking forward to watching you and the house and garden develop and change.

[@BramblesCottage]

Hi There, we moved to this area for Cameron to take on the job that he's just been made redundant from. However, we were already looking in this direction as we've lived on the West side before (South Wales) and always loved the lush greenery that comes with the Gulf Stream. The wet doesn't usually bother us, although last August was an exception. This area has one or two Celtic Rainforests which are just stunning - moss and ferns everywhere. It's a beautiful area if you're considering it. - Stina

[@brightsilver2869]

A stove reno video would be most welcome if you have time.

[@BramblesCottage]

I'll have a look at turning the footage into something nice for the channel 😀

[@garryrushworth2362]

I assume by the reference to Southwest Scotland that you're in Dumfries & Galloway. There are lots of suppliers of hardwood logs around at fairly reasonable prices. Enjoying the channel

[@BramblesCottage]

Hi, yes D&G spot on! I've been looking round and there's lots of places selling very good wood but we'd like to be able to find a supply that's practically free and then we'd be able to season it at home as needed. I'm sure that in the short run we'll be buying some in but would hope to have something sorted ASAP to get the seasoning in before next winter. - Cameron

[@helenbailey8419]

​@@BramblesCottage😊😊just a thought,the place that had free,could they deliver?

[@BramblesCottage]

The ones we got were an excellent price but not quite free and it was a super limited sale as they were doing a clearance before exchanging the keys. If we'd had a van then we'd have been set for life, just didn't get enough time to organise anything.

[@slashingbison2503]

good jobs , by the way in case you haven't all fireplaces need to be hetas certified and you must by law have a carbon monoxide monitor in the room, they are like £20 and could literally save you life.

[@BramblesCottage]

No worries, we got the monoxide monitor a while back, better to be sure and all that.

[@theoodonovan1118]

Good job watching from the north west corner of Ireland Donegal. As a chimney sweep in Ireland just out of interest how much is a chimney sweep and nest removal in Scotland?. love the channel

[@BramblesCottage]

Hello from Scotland! We signed up for a sweep at £90 but on arrival the guy said before even looking inside the chimney that the price for a nest removal was £290 (Inc a sweep) as it could take anything from an hour to a whole day, which is true and fair really. Out of interest, what would be your usual charge for a nest removal?

[@theoodonovan1118]

We are a lot cheaper than that, €60 for a sweep and extra 25 for a nest removal. Which usually takes a hour and a half.

[@BramblesCottage]

That's a darn good price! We couldn't find many people doing chimneys in the area so it's probably a bit of a cornered market round here.

[@lindawilding5516]

Im down south and pay £60 for a vacuum sweep. You have the rods just buy a plastic brush which replaces the old sweeps brush and using an electric drill you can do it yourself. Your chimney looked solid stone, not brick, as long as they aren’t leaking you don’t need to line them. When their lined your chimney breast doesn’t get warm so its a waste.

[@BramblesCottage]

Thanks for the tips. I actually found an old sweep head in the workshop left behind by the last owner, really tempted to give it a go, just worry about the insurance bit. Like if there was a fire, the insurance would want to know it was professionally cleaned or something.

[@dorothyeaston3393]

This is the time of year mice come in from the cold, as I have found out this week. Be prepared!

[@BramblesCottage]

If the mice come into this house they're in for a surprise, 2 cats who would love to say hello to them lol

[@dorothyeaston3393]

@BrambleCottageMiniHomestead Sorry to burst your bubble but I have an American Ragdoll cat and a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel and they BOTH RAN AWAY when they saw the mouse!

[@BramblesCottage]

Poor things, mice can be scary though! Our kitties have met mice in the home before, thankfully we managed to save one and return it to the outdoors.

[@dorothyeaston3393]

@BrambleCottageMiniHomestead I have found the best deterrent. I sprinkle cayenne pepper and hot chilli pepper under units and a small dish of malt vinegar. Small pile of pepper on worktop where thet climb.

[@ithacacomments4811]

some tasks are best done by professionals...why risk a fall?

[@BramblesCottage]

To be fair the risk of a fall is pretty low and some people would charge an arm and a leg just to take the ladders out (an arm and a leg we can't afford right now). My issue is I can't trusty my legs at any sort of hight, they just go. So my mind was willing but my body had the casting vote. - Cameron

[@CynthiaEvans-i2f]

[@maxwalchli5093]

Why oh why does utube have to play such terrible repitive music which drowns out what the people who are talking in the lovely programs are saying it drives me crazy I give up watching so many programs be because of this the music is blooming hateful

[@BramblesCottage]

Was there a particular part which you struggled with? We might be able to change something to help with it.

[@ionamack24]

For me, it's not that the music is horrible, it's just that I sometimes miss what's being said because of it. I also find it distracting. Otherwise, great videos 🙂

[@BramblesCottage]

I'll try and tweak it a little for the next video, it can be difficult getting it just right, but we'll get there.

[@BarbaraHill-s8q]

Your partner doesn't do very much does he

[@BramblesCottage]

I'm busy doing nothing, working the whole day though, trying to find lots of things not to do. 😉