Everyone wants a sweep the week it gets cold.
In July nobody thinks about their chimney. By the first cold night in October, half your customers want you this week. Redline helps you move the rush earlier, book every sweep a year ahead and keep repair days for the dry weather they need.
Flattening the fall
Book next year before you leave the roof
When you finish a sweep, book next year's and set a 12-month repeat. If you finished in late October, book next year's in August instead. That one change moves part of the rush out of October for good.
Presets by flue count
"Sweep, 1 flue, 60 min" and "Sweep, 2 flues, 90 min" as saved presets, so suggested slots leave real time on the roof and not a guess.
See where the room is
Ask how October looks against September. When a new customer calls for a sweep, offer the open weeks first and keep October for people who can't wait.
Group the towns
Ask for a time and Redline offers slots on days you're already working in that town. Optimize proposes moves for the next 7 days to put same-town sweeps together.
Repairs get their own days
Crown and masonry work want dry weather above freezing. Book them as their own visits on the repair job with the day kept clear, ahead of the sweeps if the customer can't burn until it's fixed.
Rain on the roof
"Rain all day Thursday. Move my roof jobs to Friday and Monday." Redline moves the visits you name. Firebox-side work can stay put.
Late August, phone ringing
October has 38 sweeps booked, with Tuesday to Friday full most weeks. Sept 14 to 30 has 9 so far. Most of the new requests could go there.
You're in Andover Tuesday, Sept 15 for the Moreau crown repair. I can put Reed at 8:00, Kim at 9:30 and Castellano at 11:00, before the crown work starts. Book all three?
Scheduling, repeating visits and presets work on every plan.
Chimney work and how it goes on the calendar
| Work | How to book it | Weather |
|---|---|---|
| Annual sweep | A 12-month series, preset by flue count | Roof access needs a dry day; firebox-only sweeps don't |
| Inspection for a home sale | A single visit, closing date in the note | Same as a sweep |
| Cap or damper install | A short visit on the repair job | Dry roof |
| Crown repair or rebuild | Its own visit with the day kept clear, after the deposit | Dry, and above freezing for the mortar |
| Stainless liner install | Its own visit with the day kept clear, two techs grouped for the day on Team | Dry roof |
| Dryer vent cleaning | Its own 12-month series if you sell it | Any |
Suggested times assume weekdays from 8 to 5. Book Saturday sweeps by saying the time.
The rush you can actually move
Every sweep has the same problem: the demand comes in one cold week, but the work could be done any time from June on. Most of the fall backlog is customers who would have been happy with August if anyone had asked them in August.
That's why the most useful thing Redline does for a sweep isn't clever. It's that next year's visit is booked before you climb down, on a date you chose, and the calendar shows you how lopsided the fall is while there's still time to fix it. When the cold calls start, you're filling the gaps you left, not bumping repairs you promised.
Redline doesn't send customers a reminder that their sweep is coming, and it doesn't let them book online. A week out, call or have Redline draft a short email from your Gmail so nobody is surprised when you knock.
Straight answers on chimney scheduling
Redline does
- Annual sweeps as 12-month series, booked a year ahead
- Presets that hold the visit length per flue count
- Tell you how booked a month is when you ask
- Offer times on days you're already in that town
- Move roof work in one message on a rain day
Redline doesn't
- Remind customers that their sweep is due
- Let customers book a sweep online
- Watch the forecast and move jobs on its own
- Write inspection reports or store camera footage
- Plan the day's route on a map
Questions contractors ask
Can I move a customer's yearly sweep from October to August?
Yes. Moving one visit only moves that year. To shift every year after it, delete the rest of the old series and add a new 12-month series starting in August.
Can my second tech run sweeps while I do repairs?
On Team ($129 a month, 3 seats) and up, assign the sweeps to them and they show up in their app with the notes and one-tap call. Group two techs for the day on a liner job. Techs never see prices.
How do I handle someone who calls in October with a fire planned for Saturday?
Ask Redline for the first open slot near work you already have in their town. If there's nothing, it's your call whether to bump something; Redline moves what you tell it and offers to draft the email to whoever got moved.
More for chimney sweeps
Keep reading
- Chimney softwareBook annual sweeps and turn what you find on the roof into repair quotes.
- Recurring jobs and repeat presetsBook a whole season of visits in one save, and reuse the cadence as a preset.
- Scheduling and calendarAsk for a time, get the 3 best open slots. Optimize tightens the week.
- Septic pumping scheduling softwareEach tank on its own multi-year interval, inspections before closing, the spring list after the thaw.
Run your business by chat.
Redline is free to start. Tell it about the job and it handles the quote, the schedule, the invoice and the follow-up.