How high should a chimney be?

[christoffersamuelsson]

My mother has a neighbor in the same row of townhouses who has installed a chimney. The problem is that the neighbor's house, which is the last in the row, has one floor while all the others have two. The chimney reaches 1 meter above their own ridge, but not above the neighboring ones. The question is: is this allowed? Shouldn't it be calculated as 1 meter from the highest ridge? The smoke is coming in through the air intakes, causing several neighbors to have problems with smoke and soot indoors! The municipality doesn't seem to know what applies and isn't interested in checking...

 

[Kapabel]

My mother has a neighbor in the same row of townhouses who has installed a fireplace. The problem is that the neighbor's house, which is the last in the row, has one story while all the others have 2. The fireplace's chimney reaches 1 m above their own ridge, but not over the neighboring ones. The question is: is it allowed to be like this? Shouldn't it be calculated 1 m from the highest ridge? The smoke is coming in through the air intakes, causing several neighbors to have problems with smoke and soot indoors! The municipality doesn't seem to know what applies and isn't interested in checking...

The best and safest answer will come from the municipality.

 

[MrDizzy]

new rules from July 1, 2025 https://www.boverket.se/sv/PBL-kuns...s-byggregler/forbranningsgaser/skorstenshojd/

as I see it, the new requirement is that it should be within 1m from the highest roof ridge

 

[Workingclasshero]

new regulations from July 1, 2025
[link]

as I see it, the new rule is that it should be within 1 meter from the highest roof ridge

As I see it, it should be at least 1 meter above the roof covering and above the ridge.
But you should also consider the following:
"BBR requires sufficient chimney height to ensure good function and dispersion of smoke and exhaust gases.

The placement of the chimney is also important, so that smoke and exhaust gases are not brought back to the building itself or transferred to nearby buildings."

Try to get the neighbor to agree to test extending the chimney using these rules.
Good luck.
/W

 

[lbgu]

The best and safest answer you will get is from the municipality.

Did you really read the entire post?

Hint: It was written that the municipality doesn't seem to know and doesn't want to investigate it.

 

[christoffersamuelsson]

Did you really read the entire post?

Clue: It was written that the municipality doesn't seem to know and doesn't want to investigate it.

The environmental office visited today. They only checked the air indoors at my mother's place. They knew nothing about building regulations and stated that they couldn't find that out as it wasn't their responsibility...

 

[christoffersamuelsson]

As I see it, it should be at least 1 meter above the roof covering and above the ridge.
But one should also consider the following:
"BBR requires sufficient height of chimneys to achieve good function and dispersion of smoke and exhaust gases.

The placement of the chimney is also important, so that smoke and exhaust gases are not brought back to your own building or transferred to nearby buildings."

Try to get the neighbor to agree to try extending the chimney using these rules.
Good luck.
/W

Unfortunately, the neighbor is not understanding at all. They don't care about the smoke... But thanks for the response!

 

[christoffersamuelsson]

new regulations from July 1, 2025
[link]

as I see it, the new thing is that it should be within 1m from the highest roof ridge

Thanks!

 

[Peter_Ker]

If the environmental office says it's good, then there’s probably nothing more to do?

 

[Mats-S]

problem with smoke and soot indoors!

If you're getting soot from the smoke of a wood stove, then I wonder what they are burning?
Soot shouldn't come in from someone burning good dry wood 🤔

 

[Intet]

If you get soot from the smoke of a wood stove, I wonder what they're burning?
Soot shouldn't come in from someone burning good dry wood 🤔

Styrofoam, maybe?

 

[steffo_b]

My mother has a neighbor in the same row house who installed a stove. The problem is that the neighbor's house, which is the last in the row, has one floor while all the others have 2. The chimney of the stove reaches 1 m above their own ridge, but not above the neighboring ones. The question is: is that allowed? Shouldn't it be calculated 1 m from the highest ridge? The smoke is entering through the air intakes so that several neighbors have problems with smoke and soot indoors! The municipality doesn't seem to know what applies and is not interested in checking up...

The general rules say that the chimney should be at least 1 meter above the roof covering and end above the nearest ridge. Then there are special rules concerning what applies when there is a distance to the nearest ridge. Or at least it used to be so. For example, if there is a certain distance to the nearest ridge and the chimney is in the lee from this in relation to the prevailing wind direction in the area, it can be lower or something like that.

The municipality should be able to answer.
But if they can't give you an answer, as it seems here, then I would recommend contacting the company that handles the chimney sweeping in the area. They are well aware of what applies.
I myself contacted the company that handles the chimney sweeping in my municipality when I recently redid the roof and chimney to know what applies.

However, it seems to be an existing chimney that was previously approved. Then I’m afraid you just have to live with it unless you can get the neighbor to voluntarily extend the chimney.

 

[steffo_b]

If you get soot from the smoke of a wood-burning stove, I wonder what they are burning?
Soot should not come in from someone who burns good dry wood 🤔

Soot in larger amounts should not occur except when you have just lit the fire, and it hasn't reached temperature yet.
But unfortunately, there will be smoke, and if the chimney is too short, the smell of smoke will reach the nearby houses.

 

[christoffersamuelsson]

If the environmental office says it's fine, then there's nothing more to do, right?

The environmental office says they don't know, but they don't care to find out what's applicable since it's not their responsibility, but rather something for the building office.

 

[christoffersamuelsson]

The general rules state that the chimney must be at least 1 meter above the roof covering and end above the nearest ridge. Then there are special rules regarding what applies when there is a distance to the nearest ridge. Or at least it used to be so. For example, if there is a certain distance to the nearest ridge and the chimney is sheltered from this in relation to the prevailing wind direction at the location, it can be lower or something like that.

The municipality should be able to answer.
But if they can't give you an answer, as it seems here, I would recommend contacting the company that handles chimney sweeping in the area. They have a firm understanding of what applies.
I contacted the company responsible for chimney sweeping in my municipality myself when I recently renovated the roof and chimney to know what applies.

However, it is probably an existing chimney that has been approved previously. Then, unfortunately, I think you just have to accept the situation unless you can get the neighbor to voluntarily extend the chimney.

No, it is not existing from before. The stove and chimney were installed this winter.