Chimnet breast

[mylittlehouse]

Hi everyone

I need some help, i just had a new fireplace put in and its very nice, i have noticed that in my victorian house when i have a fire it smells of fire in the loft ie smoke must be escaping from the chimnet breast into the loft, sone bricks do look a wee bit old and battered.
What can be done

does this have to be re-built or can it be lined i have no idea about this sort of thing.

hopefully i wont have to have my whole chimney breast taken down and be built as i know this will be messy work????

Help please any info will be fantastic.

 

[Richard C]

When was the chimney last used? have you just brought it back into commission? What fuel does your new fireplace use? Is it different to what was previously being used?

It’s very unlikely you will have to demolish & rebuild your chimney; the first thing you need to do is get hold of someone who understands chimneys & flues, perhaps the people who put in the new fire! They will examine it, do some draught & smoke tests & will decide what is needed to make it safe, a flue liner will almost certainly put things right if it’s decided that is the best course of action.

If it is to be lined, however, you will need to decide what fuel you or anyone who comes after you will want to burn. There are different grades of liner; solid or muti-fuel stoves must have a grade 1 liner fitted but gas fires don’t. If you fit the cheaper, lower grade gas liner the flue won’t be able to be used to burn solid fuel or logs anymore.

 

[mylittlehouse]

i have been reading this today i burn solid fuel like coal and wood, i think i may need it lined and i canot believe its so expensive to do.

When i moved in there was a gas fire in place but now i put a real fire back in and only a small amount but it smels in the loft of smoke and this is not good i may have to look into re-lining the loft.

 

[noseall]

i may have to look into re-lining the loft.

ahh, good idea.

forget fixing the problem just hide it away.

 

[Richard C]

i have been reading this today i burn solid fuel like coal and wood, i think i may need it lined and i canot believe its so expensive to do.

When i moved in there was a gas fire in place but now i put a real fire back in and only a small amount but it smels in the loft of smoke and this is not good i may have to look into re-lining the loft.

Why do you say you may have to re-line THE LOFT? That certainly won’t help the problem at all!

I didn't ask was how old is the property & do you actually own it? If you don’t own it, you should contact your landlord immediately! If it’s your property & its old then it’s quiet likely that the flue hasn’t been maintained or has deteriorated so the problem almost certainly lies in the fact you’ve switched from burning gas to solid fuel. The flue may be either unlined or it may be that the previous owner lined it to fix the problem but for use with a gas fire; this grade of flue liner isn't suitable for solid fuel!

Changing the type of fire installed in a property is, I believe, work which must be notified to your local council Building Control dept & the work must comply with current regulations; this is to protect the inhabitants from "DYING" due to poisoning &/or asphyxiation! You still don’t say who installed your “new” fire, if it was a DIY job you definitely need to stop using it & get some professional help! If it was a "professional" installation then they should certainly have made all the necessary checks & advised you of any problems that needed fixing before they installed the new fire; if not I would contact your local trading standards & Building Control for advice on what to do next!

 

[mylittlehouse]

sorry yes i meant to say re line the chimnet breast with a flue

my house is victorian and had a fireplace anyway but when i bought it they had put a gas fire in.
I think i may need a flue as the house it old and there was not one there, i know the houe has used solid fuel before as there was soot up the chimnet when it was swept but it maybe that the provious owner who was a landlord for cost issue's decided to put a gs fire in the opening as it was cheaper than fixing the flue.

Seanie

p.s the peopel who fitted the fireplace were hetas registered and were rubbish they put it on no level and refued any compensation. Not impressed at all