Hi,
I have read a couple of threads about wood against chimneys. My question is about whether it's okay to have wood against the chimney if you have a chimney liner in your flue. There are a total of 6 flues and we will be using 1.
I had a chimney sweep here for a quote on the liner, and he was very vague on the question. The house is from 1913, and wood has probably been against the chimney since then. On the upper floor, there has been a bathroom against the chimney since the 1950s - I have no idea what it is framed with.
The chimney sweep said it would be 'good' to expose the chimney. And that removing any wood would facilitate a fire inspection. I mostly see the work involved in having to tear down a tiled wall in a bathroom, redo the flooring in another room to take down a wall one has put against the chimney. The chimney is like a + in the middle of the house and extends about 1.5m from the center in each direction - it's quite a lot to expose.
How would you reason?
I have read a couple of threads about wood against chimneys. My question is about whether it's okay to have wood against the chimney if you have a chimney liner in your flue. There are a total of 6 flues and we will be using 1.
I had a chimney sweep here for a quote on the liner, and he was very vague on the question. The house is from 1913, and wood has probably been against the chimney since then. On the upper floor, there has been a bathroom against the chimney since the 1950s - I have no idea what it is framed with.
The chimney sweep said it would be 'good' to expose the chimney. And that removing any wood would facilitate a fire inspection. I mostly see the work involved in having to tear down a tiled wall in a bathroom, redo the flooring in another room to take down a wall one has put against the chimney. The chimney is like a + in the middle of the house and extends about 1.5m from the center in each direction - it's quite a lot to expose.
How would you reason?
Hello,
I faced a similar dilemma last winter when we bought a house and installed a stove in an existing chimney previously used for an oil boiler.
The chimney was adjacent to wood and tretex boards, and uncovering the chimney was not an option. The chimney sweep wasn't too concerned about this when it involved a small stove for cozy fires, and as he said, if it has worked for 60 years, it will likely continue to do so.
If there had been a flue in the middle only adjacent to surrounding flues, that would have been the safest option, and we probably would have used it. But since there wasn't one, we installed a new liner in one of the flues.
It's comforting to know that it's safe to burn fuel hard without it becoming a fire hazard. The downside is that the chimney with its large mass doesn't get warm as it otherwise would have. But safety first.
I faced a similar dilemma last winter when we bought a house and installed a stove in an existing chimney previously used for an oil boiler.
The chimney was adjacent to wood and tretex boards, and uncovering the chimney was not an option. The chimney sweep wasn't too concerned about this when it involved a small stove for cozy fires, and as he said, if it has worked for 60 years, it will likely continue to do so.
If there had been a flue in the middle only adjacent to surrounding flues, that would have been the safest option, and we probably would have used it. But since there wasn't one, we installed a new liner in one of the flues.
It's comforting to know that it's safe to burn fuel hard without it becoming a fire hazard. The downside is that the chimney with its large mass doesn't get warm as it otherwise would have. But safety first.
There is no requirement that there cannot be wood (or other combustible materials) against the chimney. The requirement is that no combustible material should become so hot that it risks igniting. This naturally applies to combustible things that are not in contact with the chimney but are still nearby. In the general advice to the National Board of Housing, Building and Planning's Building Regulations, 5:41, Protection against the development of fire, it states that the surface temperature of combustible building parts and fixed furnishings must not exceed 85 degrees Celsius. How you achieve this requirement is up to you as the builder.
In older houses, the chimney is almost always integrated in some way with the house's load-bearing structure. Thus, it has contact with wood in one way or another. The general solution tends to be placing smoke channels in the center of the chimney and other channels on the sides or making the walls of the chimney thicker at points where it passes through floors. Sometimes these methods were combined.
If the chimney looks like a + in a house from 1913, it sounds like you have the actual chimney in the center and four added wings that are essentially just brick walls. These stabilize the chimney and simultaneously act as protection against fire spread into the walls and probably served as a fire shield behind local hearths in the past.
Regarding exposure, there is, as mentioned, the requirement for the maximum temperature of combustible parts, but there is also a requirement that heating appliances must be inspectable. This is yet another reason why it's advisable not to enclose the chimney. Only the parts of the chimney that actually enclose smoke paths need to be exposed.
As usual, I recommend a look at the Umeå second soot district's website:
http://umesotning.se/?page_id=59
The building regulations tab contains a lot of useful information. The page "Rökkanal allmänt 2" addresses most of your questions.
In older houses, the chimney is almost always integrated in some way with the house's load-bearing structure. Thus, it has contact with wood in one way or another. The general solution tends to be placing smoke channels in the center of the chimney and other channels on the sides or making the walls of the chimney thicker at points where it passes through floors. Sometimes these methods were combined.
If the chimney looks like a + in a house from 1913, it sounds like you have the actual chimney in the center and four added wings that are essentially just brick walls. These stabilize the chimney and simultaneously act as protection against fire spread into the walls and probably served as a fire shield behind local hearths in the past.
Regarding exposure, there is, as mentioned, the requirement for the maximum temperature of combustible parts, but there is also a requirement that heating appliances must be inspectable. This is yet another reason why it's advisable not to enclose the chimney. Only the parts of the chimney that actually enclose smoke paths need to be exposed.
As usual, I recommend a look at the Umeå second soot district's website:
http://umesotning.se/?page_id=59
The building regulations tab contains a lot of useful information. The page "Rökkanal allmänt 2" addresses most of your questions.
Member
· Västernorrland
· 12 029 posts
there are several chimneys in older houses that are built-in, so it can't reasonably be a requirement that every side must be inspectable? Otherwise, I would probably have to tear down half my house.