Fire options with less than ideal fireplace/chimney?

[susi90210]

Thanks in advance for any advice from those with more experience on this issue. I've just removed an old electric fire (ground floor, external wall) from our living room and would love to have some kind of 'proper' fire in there for the winter time. There is a gas connection behind, and a small (non-standard, apparently a bit too narrow) fireplace opening with a brick chimney.

However - some problems have emerged:
1. The opening to the chimney is too narrow for a proper open fire to draw or for a flue liner to fit currently.
2. The chimney has been shortened at some point so blows back down and leaks like a seive outside and into the loftspace.
3. No apparent structural hearth (haven't looked under the floorboards - we have suspended wooden floors).
4. Chimney pot has also been replaced with a metal gas flue type pot.

We were initially hoping to spend maybe £750 buying and getting a gas fire installed but this is now looking a lot bigger job. If we were to spend up to say £1000 would there be any options - e.g. a balanced flue going straight out the back? or even flueless? Can we put a flag stone on top of the floorboards for a hearth or do we need to take the boards up and build up from underneath? is that a massive job?

Or are we best just boarding the lot up and putting some candles in the space to make it look nice?!

Thanks!

 

[gasmanstu72]

don't ever get a flueless gas fire!!
not unless you like living dangerously,

sounds like your chimney is in a bad way, and unsuitable for a open flued gas fire, is it on an outside wall? if so you might be best getting a balanced / fan flued fire, there's some really nice ones out there.
you don't need to build up underneath a hearth, it can sit straight onto the floorboards, providing they're sound.

 

[FiremanT]

don't ever get a flueless gas fire!!
not unless you like living dangerously,

.

Here we go again! Unfounded comments by guys who have never even seen one or bothered to learn about them. Real problem is the neccessity for a vent. But I've fitted dozens, and with intelligent siting most have had no complaints.

 

[ree]

susi90210, you made me laugh with your final exasperated comment about candles as a last resort.

You began by saying that you "wanted a proper fire" - by proper did you mean a solid fuel fire or some kind of gas appliance?

1. Who said that the flue is too narrow? What dimension is the flue?
2. Has the chimney stack been "shortened" from its original height?
Has any portion of the chimney breast been removed between the living room and the roof chimney stack?
Has the flue in the living room or the flues in any other rooms been swept or smoke tested?
3.
4. Can a metal flue liner be seen in the fire opening flue? Or, looking up the flue is there a metal plate?

Is the "gas connection" actually in the fire place opening? google "gas restrictor elbow" - does it look like this?

If you posted pics of the living room chimney breast, the chimney breast brickwork in the loft, and the roof chimney stack it would help?

For the time being hold the candles.

 

[muggles]

I'm surprised that your brick-built chimney is too small for a liner at the bottom. Can you post a picture from inside the fireplace looking up?

 

[susi90210]

Thanks everyone, I will try and post some pictures tonight. Basically, so far I'm just going by what the chimney sweep said when he came out to sweep and smoke test (hence the discovery of leakiness etc). He reckons the opening at the bottom is too narrow for a flue liner - but I will try and photograph it. Yes the stack has been shortened - we're a semi- bungalow and the other side has the original stack - projecting maybe 6 feet or more above the roof line. Ours has obviously been shortened at some point to only 2 or three feet above - hence the smoke blowing back down when we did the smoke test.

The gas fitting looks sort of similar to the restrictor elbow. It's basically copper pipe coming out of the concrete at the base of the opening, bends 90 degrees, then a tap, then a sealed end. Bear in mind this was probably done around 30 years ago when the house was last renovated.

 

[susi90210]

 

[susi90210]

here are some pics of the fireplace the opening above is about one bricks width.

 

[ree]

susi90210,
Thanks for the pics but there are still some missing answers and a pic or two of the outside outstanding?

You can do your own smoke test with pellets from plumbing suppliers - that way you can note each smoke leak.

The flue can be easily opened up to its original dimensions.

The gas cock valve is dated and should be replaced if gas is to be used. Its most probable that the gas pipe is live - it has gas under pressure in it.

There's probably a concrete hearth under the floor boards.

 

[susi90210]

Thanks! Yes we did a smoke test and it leaks all over - outside and into the loft as well
However, I'm going to get a roofer to have a look at the chimney and a gas fitter to look at the fireplace and see what our options are -I'm just guessing that fixing the chimney is more likely to be >£1k but I'll let you know!