building a flue ??

[simonadams]

I am curently converting an integral cart house to the main lounge area of my 18th century cottage. The floor space is about 21ft by 14ft.

I will need some form of heating along with the central heating and am considering a gas fire. At present there is no chimney of any sort.
I am going to build a chimney as a feature in the room and will put in some form of flue to accomadate the gas fire. I will be getting a corgi fitter to fit the fire but to keep the cost down will be building the chimney myself. The chimnety will be at the end of the house.
I would like some advice on how I should build in the flue.
I have also considered a flueless gas fire.
Any thoughts please ?

 

[wickerman]

Simon

You wouldnt believe the weight in a chimney, so you will have to have foundations and you wont be able to build it on your sub floor. It is quite easy to build as you can buy the terracotta chimney liners which you insert into the chimney as you go up, and back fill them with 10:1 mix so the chimney liner is held tight inside the block built chimney.

On flue less gas fires when gas burns the hydrogen atoms mix with the oxygen and one of the by products of a flueless gas fire is water. So you can get condensation problems. If you do build a chimney you could have any kind of fire in that building.

 

[breezer]

i saw a prog on tv where they said in old style cottages the chimney weighed more than the remainder of the house

 

[simonadams]

The room which I am converting is only one storey and so by time I put the ceiling in you will only be able to see about 8-9 feet of the chimney. I Have yet to put the concrete floor down and so if need I can put in foundations for the chimney. What I was thinking, which I did not mention earlier is that I am considering using a flexible flue. The question is how can I be sure that it has enough draw to take the fumes out ?

 

[wickerman]

Dont quote me on this but for some reason 11foot and 6" diameter comes into my mind, unless thats just wishful thinking

But if you have the chance to start from scratch you would be mad not to use the terracota liners, its far cheaper and gives you the opertunity to have any kind of fire there or wood burner, those liners i think are 8" diameter

 

[oilman]

The question is how can I be sure that it has enough draw to take the fumes out ?

Speak to the manufacturer of the fire. They specify what is required for their appliance.

 

[legs-akimbo]

I believe you can get pummice flues now which are lightweight .... dont know much about them though.... the flueless fires are pretty cheap I have one though have not got around to installing it yet so cant comment on how it performs. You can get a balanced flue or power flue on theese but the choice is limited. With the terracotta liners you need a flue gatherer to start off the liner available from a pre cast concrete place.

 

[Nemo]

Hi Simon

I have recently installed a liner for my wood burning stove. The instalation is fairly simple - but my advice would be to select the one for the type of fire that you intent to have, either gas, wood or solid - they make a liner for each type. The liners come in 10y and 20y life spans - unles you plan to move, go with the 20y as the extra cost is minimal over the life of the product.

My liner was 8m and 150mm dia and draws like a train. The only thing I did was put a couling on top to stop the pesky birds from falling in.

There is a lot of good info at www.fluesystems.com - good luck.

 

[legs-akimbo]

I believe you can get pummice flues now which are lightweight .... dont know much about them though.... the flueless fires are pretty cheap I have one though have not got around to installing it yet so cant comment on how it performs. You can get a balanced flue or power flue on theese but the choice is limited. With the terracotta liners you need a flue gatherer to start off the liner available from a pre cast concrete place.

Just reread this and it may not be very clear....... the fires are flueless as in they dont need a conventional chimney but have a flue that fits through any external wall

 

[kevplumb]

thats not flueless thats room sealed
or if you prefer balanced flue

 

[legs-akimbo]

thats not flueless thats room sealed
or if you prefer balanced flue

Perhaps so....... but if you asked for a room sealed gas fire you would get some blank looks or did a search on the net!!
Balanced flue is room sealed, as in, the front of the fire is sealed with a glass front, hence room sealed but a power flue which works on the same principle as the the former but is spured off a socket and electrically disperses through the wall, operating as the unit is switched on so the fire front can be an open one.