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hi all
we have just moved into a new rented house which seems to have the thermal properties of a tea strained. We have an open fire at the house, which we lit yesterday which was utterly astounding in its inneffectiveness!
I know there's probably umpteen regulations about who is supposed to fit them, but has anybody.tried buying a woodburner secondhand off ebay and fitting it themselves?
Also before any smartarse replies about insulation I will be investigating that too.
thanks all
Yes I helped fit one the other week. The sleeve my mate bought was very cheap, yet the guy that was going to fit it for thousands said it was the same as his company uses.
I'll get the details later.
I fitted one that I bought from a shop. Needed some help from a friend that owned an angle grinder in order to adjust the hearth.
If I can do it anyone can.
You'll soon get a stack of posts telling you to use new fangled things like flue liners. I am sure they have a purpose but they are not needed. (IMHE) Just stick a few feet of pipe on the stove , shov3e it up the hole and block the hole in with tin around the pipe. If it smokes like hell check the chimney is clean. Maybe thats worth a try first. Crap fires are usually user error or poor servicing.
Morso Squirrel Stove - makes me smile this time of year. Fitting was a K, so I got a good quality stove, clean burn smokeless zone area approved.
did so but we did line the whole chimney as it's an unknown quality thing. if you know it's potted, eg. gas tight then you just need a length of stove pipe. We love ours.
some boring stuff:
Are you in a smokeless zone? If so you'll need a clean burning one.
You'll need building regs sign off
Probably worth getting a sweep in. He can give the chimney a clean and will advise on condition.
Might be a good idea to fit a carbon monoxide detector.
As above, the actual fitting is easy
They should be installed to meet HETAS regulations. Our builder had installed ours incorrectly and it nearly resulted in setting fire to the house 8O. You need to look to make sure there is enough space around the burner and that the materials surrounding it are correct.the HETAS website guides to to the correct building regs. More importantly though, if you are in a rented house I would imagine the landlord would not be too pleased if you installed something,especially if it does not meet building regs etc
its more a worry if your chimmney breast is leaky in the floor above for example. As that was our daughters bedroom I decided it was too much of a risk to do it myself and slowly gas her so we went down the professional help route.
If somethings worth doing n all that..
Usually easy enough to do yourself, BUT, get the chimney swept, then surveyed, liase with building control and check their technical handbooks (and HETAS).
I used to be fairly gung ho about these things, but after hearing some of the horror stories from a mate who has been a sweep for a year now (and done the HETAS course) I'd be a lot more cautious. Gassing yourself/your family is surprisingly easy 🙁
I fitted my own, but to a new house so more straightfroward.
Fit CO alarms on each floor, be daft not to for all they cost.
check your home insurance - you might find that unless it's HETAS fitted you'll not be covered in the event of chimney fire etc. Also - as said ^^ - you'd need building regs sign-off I think and get some CO alarms, we had our living room fire replaced with a stove and the flue was found to be leaking into the bedroom above so we had it properly lined.
That said, my brother did it all himself including liner, all by the book though his wife was a bit worried about him dancing around on the roof in a gale trying to fit the cowl. Saved a fair bit of ££ though...
thanks guys, usefull to know. The house has no gas and is freezing so im thinking of ways that I can heat the place without spending a fortune! Especially since we are surrounded by woodland!
Out of total ignorance why is it necessary to line the chimney for a wood burner but not for a coal fire?
I've done two. The first one was ~20 years ago in an old house where common sense ruled, and I'm not even sure if ther were any rules. Slapped in a steel registry plate to the old chimney and piped it in.
Three years ago I did another in my 1970's house which had no chimney. Building regs approval was fairly straightforward. A quick drawing and some blurb about Part J and Noitces and the spec of my flue. Full twin wall internal flue. (I used Poujoulat). Take a careful read of PartJ from .gov.uk website. It's not difficult to follow once you get into it, and means you will do it properly. Also when you ask your Building Controller, you will know more than him about the rules.. yes.