Wood burning stove. Wooden fire surround. Distance.

[qwertyuiop]

Can any of you please help me with some advice. I am a pensioner with little money and need a cheap solution if possible.

I have a Victorian house with a smallish 18" wide fireplace.
It has a tiled and wood fireplacensurround.
I have bought a small stove which says 450mm to combustible surfaces from the side of the stove.
The wooden fire surround is more like 250mm from the side of the stove.

three questions:
1. one HETAS installer said as long as it was more than 200mm I was ok? Is this true? The plate on the stove says 450mm
2. can I have a concrete strip mounted onto the tiles - between the stove and the wood fire surround, so that I do not need 450mm? (It would be a vertical strip about 980mm high and 100mm front to back and 13mm thick). This would 'shield' the stove from the wood.
3. the distance from top of stove to wood fire surround is 450 mm is that ok?

Note: For the last 30 years I have had a morso squirrel in this fireplace but it needed replacing after so much use. Yes the chimney is lined and regularly swept.

Many thanks for any help

 

[qwertyuiop]

fireplace

• qwertyuiop
• 19 Jan 2014
• 1

fireplace

this is meant to be a photo of the situation.

but i do not know how to upload photos

 

[dishman]

Just as a note....you mentioned you are a pensioner with little money......

I have posted this before, but thought I should flag it up again....

Please ensure you are fully aware of the possible fuel costs for a wood burning stove....it can be much more expensive to run (installation costs are high too) than many people realise or led to believe.

I have come across many articles in the press saying how cheap and clean they are. However, please consider the following:

A 2kw high efficiency modern gas fire (even those made to look like a wood burner or an open fire with a glass front) on for 3hours a night will cost about 9 pence per hour to run.

That works out at around £35 a year to run..

An equivalent wood burning stove may cost more than £200+ to fuel...and can easily be much higher....

They also emit more particulates that a gas fire so unless you get a defra approved "clean burn" stove (which are more expensive) they are also "less green" than a gas fire.....

So, if you have an ample supply of wood or don't mind spending a lot of time collecting, storing, drying suitable wood, then it may indeed be cheaper to run....

If not, it will be considerably more expensive....

I appreciate you have already bought your stove. You many not even have a gas line avaliable (although I see an old connection to the right of the fireplace). But I thought it useful information for anyone thinking about putting one in.

 

[geraldthehamster]

Are you installing it and notifying Building Control yourself, or is a HETAS installer doing it? If the latter, then what you can do is what he is willing to sign off. If the former, then you need to familairise yourself with this:

http://www.planningportal.gov.uk/buildingregulations/approveddocuments/partj/

Cheers
Richard

 

[qwertyuiop]

Thanks both of you.

I must say I hadn't realised how expensive wood stoves are to run. Thanks for that.

I am getting a HETAS installer to do the work but he said if I did some of it then the price would be lower. Especially the preparation at the opening for the stove.

However, I have had different replies from different HETAS installers.

I have had a stove in the fireplace for the last 30 years which was properly installed 30 years ago but which needed replacing and also during the 30 years building regs have changed. I want to do everything according to the new regs. But to save money want to do as much as my HETAS intaller will allow.

But nobody has yet answered my questions!!!! Can anyone help please.

I am considering a vertical 'fin' of metal or marble to shield the wood. Any comments??

Thanks again all

 

[geraldthehamster]

But nobody has yet answered my questions!!!! Can anyone help please.

I don't think your wooden surround will catch fire. *If* your engineer is happy that it is safe and complies with regulations, and will sign it off, then I would just do it.

I regularly have piles of logs stacked closer to my stove than that, and they haven't caught fire yet.

Cheers
Richard

 

[qwertyuiop]

From my experience with my previous stove I know that my wooden fire surround did not catch fire but............. I am trying to get an answer about complying with building regulations.

What I want to know is: if I put in a vertical metal fin between my stove and my wooden fire surround will it comply with building regs. The stove is too close to the wood according to the manufacturers data. Hence some shielding is needed.

Can anyone please answer my question as to the suitability for building regulations of my intention to put in a metal shield? But only answer my question about building regs please.

Many thanks

 

[geraldthehamster]

Can anyone please answer my question as to the suitability for building regulations of my intention to put in a metal shield? But only answer my question about building regs please.

Many thanks

Wouldn't it be quicker to ask the HETAS engineer who will be doing the work? He's the one who will have to decide what complies with building regulations, before he certifies it on behalf of building control.

Cheers
Richard