How can you close a fire opening?

Hey everybody,

I have a nice big hole in my living room wall where i removed my fire place and was wondering how best to close it...

I've been told all sorts of things like I need an air brick, get the chimney pot capped, i can baton it, board it up and then plaster over it...

I was hoping that I could just board it up and plaster it, cos I don't want to live here forever and hoped I would be able to leave it fairly accessible should future owners want to re-open it... but i certainly don't want it to give me rot headaches....

all advice taken on the chin and muchly appreciated

I assume you left the actual flue in place? I boarded one up many years ago using timber battens & plaster board with a SS vent in it to allow air circulation & you should cap the chimney to prevent rain getting in but I wouldn’t close it off completely.

Hey thanks for the advice dude - what does an ss vent look like - hang on, does ss vent=stainless steel vent? in which case, is it just a plate with slotted holes in that screws on? and i assume you just cut holes in the plaster board? and place said vent over them...

Cheers again

Lots of people say blocked up chimneys have to be vented otherwise you will have damp. Where does this damp come from, all you have is a void with no air flow, same as a cavity. You do not get damp on your walls because there is no airflow in the cavity. I have seen many blocked up fireplaces with no vents and no damp, the only thing a vent will do is help air change in the room.

uprightmonkeyuk007 said:

- hang on, does ss vent=stainless steel vent? in which case, is it just a plate with slotted holes in that screws on? and i assume you just cut holes in the plaster board? and place said vent over them...

Cheers again

Click to expand...

Yes.

A chimney is not the same as a cavity wall; the inner skin of a cavity wall is not exposed to the elements & building regulations now go to great lengths to avoid any bridging across the cavity. A chimney is only a single skin & the outside of that skin is probably in one of the most exposed parts of the house. Damp can definitely travel down the chimney brickwork, into the loft & even further over time – there was a poor guy recently who had the same problem in his new conservatory! A friend has an 18 century, terraced cottage which has damp on the chimney breast in what used to be the old downstairs kitchen. This was converted to a cupboard many years ago before she bought it but she’s having quiet a problem establishing exactly where it’s coming from. Personally, I would rather have a closable vent to maintain a positive air flow up the chimney.

The trouble with most chimneys is they are not maintained . How many people have their pointing and flahings checked. How many are properly built with double trays. If an unused chimney is letting in a lot of damp, then take it down, most old chimneys have mortar rot from the effects of acid and might well become unstable. In Wales where it rains a lot I've seen unvented chimneys with no damp and vented chimneys with damp, if the fabric of the house is letting in damp then it's that that needs to be sorted. In my own place I have 5 fireplaces blocked up and the chimneys are uncapped, still I have no damp.

Hmm - good points from both you guys...

My chimney pot is not capped, my house is a 101 year old mid terrace at the top of a hill - but cheshire is fairly flat so i'm probably not that high up... The loft has been converted and shows no signs of damp. The roof is newish and sound - probably done at the same time as the loft conversion and I assume the chimney would have been inspected at the same time...

I also assume that the chimney would once have served the room above it which is also closed and not vented... but perhaps it didn't require a vent due to the opening in the living room...

I'm thinking just a vent and no cap would be a good compromise...

cheers guys