Fireplace hearth - have I got a problem??

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4 Oct 2010
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Location
Hertfordshire
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United Kingdom
We have just renovated a fireplace and have just had our first woodburning log fire. The chimney has been swept and is perfectly clear but we seemed to get 90% of smoke going up chimney and 10% wafting out into room. The distance from base of hearth to chimney opening is approx 30" (75mm) and someone told me that the fire grate may be too far away. Is that correct or a loada rubbish? So,

1) Do I need to raise the height of the base of the hearth by another 12" (30mm) making the gap between grate and flue about 20" or should existing height be OK ??

2) If I do need to raise it, can I use a mix of ordinary cement for the floor of the hearth?

Any tips or advice greatly appreciated

View media item 26799
 
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Do you intend using that fire to heat the room or, is it just there for the effect?
 
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The reason I asked was because it doesn't appear to have a throat, so it won't throw any heat heat out. All the heat will go up the lum.
 
The "throat" forms a narrow section just below the chimney. The throat is very important in making the chimney draw properly. I would guess the lack of a throat could be the cause of some of (or all of) your problems.

There can be many other external factors involved in smoke coming back down the chimney, such as other buildings, trees etc. For instance we have a wood fire at home, and if the wind is from the SSW we occasionally get puffs of smoke coming back down. And since we just burn logs it creates a lovely smell, (wife doesn't agree)

Difficult to appreciate the scale of the picture you provide, but are they proper fire bricks at the back of your fire ? They look a bit like average house bricks to me. Is it a proper fire place ????
 
The draft is obviously insufficient; grate too low, no throat, possibly other problems with the flue; what you’re doing is notifyable works for very good reasons get a qualified installer in to sort it out properly before you suffocate yourself & your family.
 

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