Hello, hopefully someone can point me in the right direction....
My husband is a forester by trade so he has unlimited access to waste wood, and we are looking to install a wood burning stove in our house. It had, just before we moved in last summer, a fully working coal fire which heated the house. For some reason the people thought it would be a great idea to punch holes in the back boiler, rip out the tank which heated water and radiators, install a thermaflow electric central heating system, and plaster over the hearth/ chimney and fit one of those fan heater/fake flame fire affairs. Our first electric bill for 5 weeks was £416..... and this is on the economical rate apparently....Anyhow, we want to open up the plastered-up fire, and fit a wood burner. We were intending fitting the flue liner along with the stove, but someone has told us we could just use the existing chimney? I'm thinking a)it would burn more efficiently with a liner fitted and b) be more safe as the chimney breast goes through the bedroom and god knows how many chimney fires there have been over the years and cracks etc etc. Any thoughts? Also, as my husband will be fitting the wood burner and liner, will he need to open the fire up, get the chimney swept, fit the whole thing, then get it inspected? Or does the chimney not need swept prior to fitting the liner? Any thoughts appreciated :)
Hello Daisydancer, i really dont want to come across as sounding rude, but because of the nature of some of your questions to a very potentially dangerous install, I get the feeling that you would maybe be better getting a qualified HETA engineer involved. Your insurance could be void if it is called upon with no certification etc, and thats without the safety aspect. Please seriously consider an engineer.
Havng had a wood burning stove installed I totally agree with HappyBob, it's not a DIY job, if it wasn't quite right I would have to think of the consequences. However I do think that it would be a great thing to do, you would save a fortune over electric heating.
Thanks for your replies :) The stove and it's fitting will be inspected before and after fitting by an engineer to comply with building regs, so no worries there, was just curious what other's thoughts were.
We fitted our wood burning stove at the end of last year, however, ours was very straightforward in that the hole was already there, no existing liners to take out and didn't have to move boilers etc out of the way.
We were advised to get the chimney cleaned and inspected by someone qualified which we did, he was happy with our chimney and told us how to install it. We asked him about lining the chimney and was told the same advice as the place we bought our wood burner from (they are HETAS qualified solid fuel engineers) so trusted their advice which was if there is no leak then no liner (our house is detached). We installed our stove as per instructions then lit a very small fire in it to see if any smoke escaped into the rooms. (which it didn't)
I have been told that it can be warmer with a liner, however, there is still a risk of chimney fires with or without one and you must get the chimney cleaned at least once a year by someone qualified.
Tammy xxx
Mum to two girls Violet and Iris and Hubby! 7 chickens, Easter, Bunny, Daisy, Tulip, Primrose, Buttercup, Snowdrop, 2 silkie chicks Teddy & Rainbow. 1 cat, Gromit. 2 gerbils cheese and onion, 2 guinea pigs Bangers & Mash and my Min Pin puppy Betty. RIP my little Casserole, Hotpot & Stew x Goodnight to my wonderful cat Chance and my wonderful dog Hamish xx
Installing it yourself can be done!, but you must involve you local authorities building regulations officer, as he will grant the certificate to state that its been installed to meet regulations! As for not needing a liner, this depends on the age and condition of your chimney/stack, some modern houses have chimneys that are concrete lined, these are generally well sealed, but older houses with red brick and lime mortar probably would require a liner. Also, if your house is detatched or semi detatched and the chimney is on the outside of the house, then it has to be lined and insulated, otherwise you can get condensation on the inside of the chimney that runs down into the woodbuner/hearth .
I am old and wise, because I was young and stupid!.
You know, when we got the cabin in the mountains, I wondered about reusing the old chimney. After a lot of consideration about fire danger and all, I decided that the old chimney should be removed and the roof and ceiling repaired. When we installed the wood burning stove, we also installed triple-wall pipe straight up through the ceiling and roof, then sealed the roof carefully. Works beautifully, no leaks, and perfectly safe. We also built a new hearth by using cement board and good heavy tile. Actually looks good!
and this is on the economical rate apparently....Anyhow, we want to open up the plastered-up fire, and fit a wood burner. We were intending fitting the flue liner along with the stove, but someone has told us we could just use the existing chimney? I'm thinking a)it would burn more efficiently with a liner fitted and b) be more safe as the chimney breast goes through the bedroom and god knows how many chimney fires there have been over the years and cracks etc etc. Any thoughts?
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