putting in a solid fuel fire requirements?

July 30th, 2010 | by admin |

hello all I am thinking of opening up the fire in my house it was built circa 1900 and has been sealed up for quite some time, I have opened it up and the chimney draws well and dosent leak smoke into the house, what I need to know is… at the moment it is bear brick in the fire back, the fire itself is 88 x 38 cm with a tiled hearth, what do i need to do now, i cant decide what to do next brick it up and put in a fire insert (cast??) to burn coal, or have a central free standing log burner, or even possibly a solid fuel stove?? what do i need to do to prepare for either of these and are there any legal requirements to comply with along the way? thanks all for looking, oh, in bridlington in the uk!!

rip your tiled hearth out, build a new fireplace. put in a defra approved multi fuel, and a chimney liner would be my advice.
reason for chimney liner is cos if you burn a lot of softwood, then you get a resin build up on the inside of the chimney, which becomes very acidic when mixed with rainwater, and can seriously damage your chimney.
get a defra approved stove cos then the local council can,t touch you at a later date under the clean air act ( you may be in a smokleless area at the moment, but that could easily change )
multi fuels and woodburners are fantastic, and will save you a fortune on gas

  1. 4 Responses to “putting in a solid fuel fire requirements?”

  2. By Alan B on Jul 30, 2010 | Reply

    rip your tiled hearth out, build a new fireplace. put in a defra approved multi fuel, and a chimney liner would be my advice.
    reason for chimney liner is cos if you burn a lot of softwood, then you get a resin build up on the inside of the chimney, which becomes very acidic when mixed with rainwater, and can seriously damage your chimney.
    get a defra approved stove cos then the local council can,t touch you at a later date under the clean air act ( you may be in a smokleless area at the moment, but that could easily change )
    multi fuels and woodburners are fantastic, and will save you a fortune on gas
    References :

  3. By RONALD B on Jul 30, 2010 | Reply

    If you decide on having an open fire you will require a fire back to fit the opening and a cast iron great and front when you fit the fire back fill the hole behind with fire proof rubble
    as you say your chimney draws well it seems all is well in that respect ,check that you have an air brick to the outside for ventilation ,do not pull out the tile hearth they are coming back
    With the fitting the fire insert usually they come with fitting instructions if you go by those you should have no problems
    With the free standing option the flue has to have a metal plate fitted just above the opening that has to be sealed and a hole cut to take a flue pipe.they usually have instructions as well
    References :
    Ex plumber with all trade experience

  4. By Turdy malurdy on Jul 30, 2010 | Reply

    Find a HETAS registered installer in your area to advise you on your project.
    This is the equivalent to CORGI/now Gas Safe register in the solid fuel industry.
    If you fit an open fire and do not form the gather correctly you could be at risk of CO poisoning.
    References :

  5. By reggie on Jul 30, 2010 | Reply

    If you decide to put a wood burner in you will need a non combustible surface for it to stand on, there must be at least 7cm between the burner and the fire place back and sides. The hearth needs to extend at least 30cm in front of the burner and at least 15cm either side. You will need a register plate (I used an old manhole cover) This effectively seals the chimney and has a hole through it for a short length of chimney pipe from the stove. Use fire cement to seal the registry plate to the fire place and seal round the hole that the chimney pipe goes through, use it also to seal the join between the pipe and the stove.

    You are supposed to get Building Control approval for you installation (Building Control lurk at your local Council and will charge a fee for their inspection) – you apply after the work is done. You do not need to get a HETAS approved contractor to do the work
    References :

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