Hello,
Does anyone know what explicit & binding material selection requirements apply to exterior building parts within a few meters of an existing chimney?
In consultation with our architect, we have designed an extended roof lantern with a roof terrace on our existing house from -91. An existing chimney (stacked/masonry made of some type of lightweight concrete sections) is located in this area, and the idea was to simply "extend" it with additional blocks on top.
The current, yet-to-be-submitted, building permit drawings describe a wooden railing and (pressure-treated) wooden decking as flooring on the roof terrace in line with the overall style of the house. See the attached Sketchup image, which better describes our ideas.
Now that we are about to submit this application, I started to worry about potential risks that this solution may not be approved by the chimney sweep or other authority?? Sparks from the chimney might be able to reach these exterior wooden details even if the new chimney will be over 9 meters long??
If we are forced to demolish/block off the existing fireplace, we want to know that BEFORE we apply; it should not become unpleasant news in the middle of construction...
If the solution is to build a new fireplace+chimney elsewhere in the house, how far from the roof terrace does it need to be?
Spark arrestor at the chimney top (where we are anyway planning some form of fan to get sufficient draft due to the mechanical exhaust in the house and a faulty fireplace design)??
Other thoughts/suggestions/limitations?
Does anyone know what explicit & binding material selection requirements apply to exterior building parts within a few meters of an existing chimney?
In consultation with our architect, we have designed an extended roof lantern with a roof terrace on our existing house from -91. An existing chimney (stacked/masonry made of some type of lightweight concrete sections) is located in this area, and the idea was to simply "extend" it with additional blocks on top.
The current, yet-to-be-submitted, building permit drawings describe a wooden railing and (pressure-treated) wooden decking as flooring on the roof terrace in line with the overall style of the house. See the attached Sketchup image, which better describes our ideas.
Now that we are about to submit this application, I started to worry about potential risks that this solution may not be approved by the chimney sweep or other authority?? Sparks from the chimney might be able to reach these exterior wooden details even if the new chimney will be over 9 meters long??
If we are forced to demolish/block off the existing fireplace, we want to know that BEFORE we apply; it should not become unpleasant news in the middle of construction...
If the solution is to build a new fireplace+chimney elsewhere in the house, how far from the roof terrace does it need to be?
Spark arrestor at the chimney top (where we are anyway planning some form of fan to get sufficient draft due to the mechanical exhaust in the house and a faulty fireplace design)??
Other thoughts/suggestions/limitations?
A
Alfred Jonsson
Banned
· Västra Götaland
· 208 posts
Alfred Jonsson
Banned
- Västra Götaland
- 208 posts
If you continue building the chimney with the same material as before, it should be OK:
Check with the chimney sweep, it's ultimately your local chimney sweep who decides this in the end.
Check with the chimney sweep, it's ultimately your local chimney sweep who decides this in the end.
Thanks for the response!
Does this perhaps mean that no inspection of chimney regulations and surrounding material in a normal construction will take place until everything is completed and you call the chimney sweeper for an "Installation inspection" before commissioning a new/modified fireplace?
Seems a bit late to have a stoppage then, but maybe that’s how it is in practice.
I’ll try to get hold of a chimney sweeper, but in practice, that’s probably not possible until after the holidays, I guess. Even a chimney sweeper probably wants to sit at home and drink glögg during Christmas, I assume.
Does this perhaps mean that no inspection of chimney regulations and surrounding material in a normal construction will take place until everything is completed and you call the chimney sweeper for an "Installation inspection" before commissioning a new/modified fireplace?
Seems a bit late to have a stoppage then, but maybe that’s how it is in practice.
I’ll try to get hold of a chimney sweeper, but in practice, that’s probably not possible until after the holidays, I guess. Even a chimney sweeper probably wants to sit at home and drink glögg during Christmas, I assume.
After much hassle and difficulties, I have managed to contact two different chimney sweeps who were willing to answer this type of question. I basically got the same answer from both.
There should not be any problems having a pressure-treated wooden deck and wooden railing near the extended chimney as long as the material in the chimney is "zero-rated," i.e., allowed to have combustible material directly against it. Isoterm blocks made of pumice, which I have in the rest of the chimney, are apparently supposed to meet these requirements, so I guess it's just a matter of building upwards with more blocks of this type and then having the chimney sweep approve it when it's done.
The possibility of sparks and the like from the chimney igniting the wooden deck apparently wasn't a concern from a fire safety regulation point of view. A comment from one of the chimney sweeps was, "people have all sorts of combustible items on their rooftop terraces anyway...." and there might be some truth to that.
Laying heavy paving and having a glass+steel railing might be false security for fire safety if you then drag a large outdoor furniture set with fluffy cushions onto the deck. It can certainly still burn, although the fire would, of course, be limited in that case....
There should not be any problems having a pressure-treated wooden deck and wooden railing near the extended chimney as long as the material in the chimney is "zero-rated," i.e., allowed to have combustible material directly against it. Isoterm blocks made of pumice, which I have in the rest of the chimney, are apparently supposed to meet these requirements, so I guess it's just a matter of building upwards with more blocks of this type and then having the chimney sweep approve it when it's done.
The possibility of sparks and the like from the chimney igniting the wooden deck apparently wasn't a concern from a fire safety regulation point of view. A comment from one of the chimney sweeps was, "people have all sorts of combustible items on their rooftop terraces anyway...." and there might be some truth to that.
Laying heavy paving and having a glass+steel railing might be false security for fire safety if you then drag a large outdoor furniture set with fluffy cushions onto the deck. It can certainly still burn, although the fire would, of course, be limited in that case....