Blocking up bedroom chimneys

[richie4236]

Hi,

Live in an old 50s detached house with fireplaces in both of the main bedrooms. House is badly insulated and basically cold. We think the chimmneys are making things worse by sucking all the warm air out of hte rooms. The previous occupant of the house had sellotaped cardboard over them, but this was unsightly to say the least.

We're planning to turn one of the bedrooms into a nursery so we need a proper fix to the problem.

Are there any building regs I should be worried about. Can I just brick them up and plaster over it? Someone warned me about damp, and the need to put in an airbrick, but surely this will just give us the same problem?

Any help welcome.

Cheers

 

[noseall]

normal procedure, is to brick a chimney up and install a hit 'n' miss vent just above the skirting board, thus allowing ventilation into the void.

denying the flue any form of ventilation can result in condensation forming and ultimately damp within the chimney masonry.
if there are hygroscopic salts present then you could have quite a problem.
evidence of which will be visible as staining around the chimney breast.

not all chimney breasts will suffer without ventilation, particularly later ones that are clay pot lined.

 

[foxhole]

Like you said badly insulated, get some loft insulation and ensure good ventilation or damp, mold etc will ensue.

 

[r896neo]

and make sure the chimneys are capped.