Problems with new chimney liner

[Racoon330]

Hi
I would really appreciate some advice on the following;

I recently had the original victorian open fire removed in my house and replaced with an Esse inset stove. There has always been a problem with wind noise in my front room chimney (much less so in the back room chimney) I presumed this was because of the cowl, or lack of and so got the builders last year to put on a plastic downdraught cowl.

Anyhow this seemed to amplify the noise. So this year, having saved and spent a lot of money on getting a stove and new flue liner fitted, I was hoping this may reduce some of the noise. Unfortunately I now have banging in the chimney on windy days which I can only presume is the liner banging? Could it be that its not been fixed correctly.

I feel very disheartened to spend this much money only for the problem to worsen. I dont think they insulated the chimney - would this resolve the problem? I am concerned about getting the builder out again as they had to have scaffolding to do the fire which was an extra cost.

Could anyone also recommend a better cowl that would limit draught and noise? Im sorry to rattle on - Im just not sure what to do for the best and would really appreciate any advice!

Thanks in advance
Alix

 

[muggles]

HETAS do not approve any kind of cowl for a stove flue terminal, although rain caps are generally considered to be acceptable. Your liner should have been insulated either with Rockwool tubes or by backfilling the chimney around the liner with a vermiculite/cement mix. Presumably you used a HETAS registered installer?

I'd be surprised if your liner is moving around enough to bang but I suppose its possible if there's a lot of slack in it. There's no way of fixing it other than at the top but backfilling would certainly stop the banging if it is being caused by the liner hitting the chimney. Incidentally this won't do the liner any good and may quickly result in you getting a hole in it, in which case it'll need to be replaced, so you should get this sorted at the earliest opportunity.

Have you paid the installers for the work yet? If you have then you'll probably be stuck with having to pay them some more but really it doesn't sound like its been fitted correctly.

 

[Racoon330]

Thanks for your reply Muggles

Yes they are HETAS approved, although they did not mention about insulation. Although saying that, neither did the other builder I got a quote from. And I was very specific about the high wind problem!

Do you think it would be possible to back fill without scaffolding? Any idea of the cost - the chimney is about 120 width by about 9/10m.

The point you made about the potential damage to the lining was useful - something I can mention to the builder. And yes I did pay them. Im useless at dealing with stuff like this - the ex used to do it all!

Thanks again
Alix

 

[dann09]

1. What kind/make of flue liner was used?

2. Was your flue swept and smoke tested before the liner installation?

3. As above, the liner should be secured at the terminal.

4. When you hear the noise, is the stove in operation? Keep a record of conditions when you hear the banging ie. wind from what direction, rain, and stove fired up or not?

5. Do you have any large trees close by the property?

 

[dann09]

Further:
11. which Esse model do you have?

12. Do you have a "Notice Plate"? At the stove location, the elec meter or water stop-cock?

muggles,

Just saying,
Insulating the liner isn't in Doc J and very few seem to do it nowadays.

Cowls are permitted with stove liners AFAIK. Cowls with birdguards above wood fuel burning stoves require the birdguard to be omitted, or annual cleaning ( not going to happen), but Cowls themselves are fitted all the time?

 

[Racoon330]

Hi Dann
Thanks for asking all these questions. Problem is Im not sure about most of them that relate to the fitting - I didnt get the quote in writing.

The noise is intermittent banging when its windy. No rain/trees/aerials etc. No fire in the stove. Its definitely in the chimney as Ive put my ear to it and its quite loud.

I feel quite p***ed off actually - with myself more then anything. Its just such a lot of money. If it was windy once in a blue moon no problem, but round here its like this a lot.

I appreciate your input. Any last advice on cowl/insulation before I ring the builder? If I have to chuck more money at it I will end up getting it capped off!
Cheers
Alix

 

[bolshy]

http://www.fluesystems.com/liners/info/chimney_liner_components.htm

There's no excuse for leaving a liner flapping about, or not securing it properly. You need to get them back if you suspect poor fitting is the cause.