Flue + Canopy fitted in fireplace 6 months ago. Not working!

[higemmalea]

We had a custom made chimney canopy and flue installed in our inglenook fireplace back in March. A few days after work was completed we tried the fire for the first time and were completely smoked out of the house. We tried again, and again, and again with the same result every time. The chimney has absolutely no draw, and the house stank of smoke.

We contacted the company that installed it straight away. The owner requested pictures of the installation and said that with the canopy installed that high above the fire there was no chance it would work. At this point I should point out that the installers asked where we'd like it, my OH told them something along the lines of "I guess around here would look nicest but I don't know, I don't install canopies for a living."

The company said that they could come back and lower the hood, but that we'd need to pay around £300 as they'd need to get their team up from Cornwall to Dorset again. That was apparently a cheap price as they planned to coincide it with the next job they had in the area, so it would definitely be done in time for the colder weather.

Fast forward 6 months and the work is still not done. We've left 3 messages asking for a call back in the last week alone. We've spoken to the owners wife asking her to get him to return our call and we've heard nothing. We paid £4000 for the installation and bespoke black smithery so IMO we should not be paying for them to come back and rectify their error at all.

We've been very nice about the whole issue, and on the occasions OH has spoken to the owner by email/phone he's also been very pleasant. This is all getting very frustrating.

What action can we take from here? I'd be grateful for any advice!

P.S. On the off chance that someone with experience in chimneys is reading, I have a picture of the fireplace. Hopefully I've attached it correctly!

 

[ree]

The installers are responsible for due diligence, they are being paid for being paid-for-professionals.

Even if the householder specified a particular but incorrect height, then the professional has a duty to either refuse to install or explain the negatives which would be typically signed off by you on the receipt as understood and accepted.

Even before the installer left the site they must, again in all due diligence, test the installation by lighting a fire and smoke testing etc. and observing the draw.

Prior to installation, did the installers inquire about the condition of the flue - did they actually smoke test and/or sweep the flue? Did they check the stack terminal?

 

[higemmalea]

Hi Ree,

Thanks for replying!

We had a chimney deep clean right before installing the new flue. As for the stack terminal, Google Image implies that that's the thing that sometimes looks like a plant pot on top of the chimney. If that's the case then yes, they fitted a new one.

We got a call from the owners wife today saying that he's on site but she will ensure he calls us back over the next couple of days. OH informed them that we've started looking at how we could escalate the problem to a formal body. I'm hoping that will give them a bit of a shove!

 

[mikric]

Is the company HETAs registered ? Did the open fire draw ok before the installation do you know ? What is the ventilation provision in the room ?

 

[higemmalea]

Hiya,

Yes they're HETAS registered and an SMAS Worksafe Contractor.

No we had the chimney lined and canopied very shortly after moving in and didn't have a fire. Though the previous owner says he used to have fires. I don't know if that was with the grate that we have in the picture though, as that came with the house.

 

[1justin]

That looks like a massively inefficient set up, even if it didn't smoke you out in the process. Probably would burn a lot of wood and you'd still need radiators. And when you are not burning it, heat from the room goes straight up the chimney.
Open fires are not the stuff of the 21's century.

That's a perfect place for a stove. You'll get ten times as much heat for the same amount of fuel. - They work !

 

[higemmalea]

I'd have loved a stove but unfortunately it puts the building insurance for a thatch cottage up by 40%!

It's a listed cottage so there's not much we can do about it unfortunately.We have heating (luckily)!

 

[ree]

The insurance business is interesting: how come you can have an open solid fuel fire with all the attendant chimney fires and terminal sparks risks 40% cheaper than a liner (even if listing allowed a liner)?

 

[jeds]

Get heavy with them. They are HETAS installers and it's absolutely no excuse to say 'we put it where you wanted it'. Write and give them 14 days to confirm a date when the work will be put right. Make it clear if they do not respond you will instruct alternative installers to carry out the work and also instruct a solicitor to begin proceeding to recover the costs. Send a copy of the letter to HETAS.

PS, you also didn't answer mikric's question about ventilation. Did they install ventilation or was there any there previously?

 

[theprinceofdarkness]

Canopies are a "solution" for people who do not understand how fires work. Just on the inside of the mantlepiece there should be a constriction in the flue. the idea being that as the hot gases rise, the constriction accelerates the gases, which causes a low pressure at this point which draws air from the room into the flue at the top front. This flow of air room stops the smoke from coming out into the room.
Fires do not draw until the flue is hot. How hot is it getting.
Frank

 

[superfridgemagnet]

We had a custom made chimney canopy and flue installed in our inglenook fireplace back in March. A few days after work was completed we tried the fire for the first time and were completely smoked out of the house. We tried again, and again, and again with the same result every time. The chimney has absolutely no draw, and the house stank of smoke.

We contacted the company that installed it straight away. The owner requested pictures of the installation and said that with the canopy installed that high above the fire there was no chance it would work. At this point I should point out that the installers asked where we'd like it, my OH told them something along the lines of "I guess around here would look nicest but I don't know, I don't install canopies for a living."

The company said that they could come back and lower the hood, but that we'd need to pay around £300 as they'd need to get their team up from Cornwall to Dorset again. That was apparently a cheap price as they planned to coincide it with the next job they had in the area, so it would definitely be done in time for the colder weather.

Fast forward 6 months and the work is still not done. We've left 3 messages asking for a call back in the last week alone. We've spoken to the owners wife asking her to get him to return our call and we've heard nothing. We paid £4000 for the installation and bespoke black smithery so IMO we should not be paying for them to come back and rectify their error at all.

We've been very nice about the whole issue, and on the occasions OH has spoken to the owner by email/phone he's also been very pleasant. This is all getting very frustrating.

What action can we take from here? I'd be grateful for any advice!

P.S. On the off chance that someone with experience in chimneys is

reading, I have a picture of the fireplace. Hopefully I've attached it correctly!

Hello I have fitted a copper Canopy in our thatch inglenook fire place and it works pretty well, have you sorted yours yet. It looks far to high above the fire the area under the hood would need to be far small than the original opening but your looks like its actually larger.