Key Post Key Post: Chimneys

I was just looking at a house brochure which states;
"the chimney flue which serves the open fireplaces needs replaced before it could be used safely".

There's no central heating, so if I bought the house I would have oil-fired central heating installed. So would I be right in thinking there would be no necessity (such as structural reasons?) to replace a chimney flue?

Generally, would a flue only need replacing if the open fires were to be used? Is the chimney flue, a lining inside the chimney?

Thanks very much for any info!

chimney

Forget the chimney and get a condensing boiler . It costs less than replacing the old flue .

other chimney problem

Have a look at the topic I started on smoke coming into our house from next door...

Chimney Flue Needs Replaced

Thanks. What's a condensing boiler ?

If I was getting oil-fired central heating installed, would I need a condensing boiler?

Or is the condensing boiler only required if I wanted to use a coal fire?

condensing boilers

Hi Jasmin !
A condensing boiler is an appliance running on gas, LPG or heating oil . It produces heat for the central heating system and for the domestic hot water taps .
It makes ( nearly ) all the energy available that is contained in the fuel .Its flue gases are so cold that the water ( vapour ) , which is contained in the fuel and in the combusting air , condenses , hence the name .
So there is no need for a chimney . A simple plastic or alu pipe would be sufficient . Check www. irish-energy.ie .For comparing what is available on the market check www.sedbuk.com . The cheapest one I came across is from " VOKERA " ,model " HYDRA ", I bought one myself and I am happy with it . These boilers are running fully automatic , have build-in-timers ,expansion vat, pump etc. and there is no need for a hot press either , just open the tap and they start delivering hot water .
No coal , no ash , no mess . And they are small enough to fit into the kitchen unit, about the size of a small fridge . The gas/LPG fired ones are about as loud -in running modus- as a fridge , oil fired ones are a little bit louder due to the blower , but it depends on the model .

condensing boilers

Thanks very much heinbloed!

It sounds interesting, I'll check those websites now and see what I can find.

Thanks again for the advice & info!

Some other posts

delaneyd159
Registered User
Chimney sweeping

I Never thought I'd ever ask a question like this, where can you buy a chimney sweeping set and what price would you expect to pay?

It seems like job I could do myself and I may as-well invest now as I will probably need to do it for the foreseeable future!


soaky
re: chimneys

Any old style hardware shop will have them. Not expensive

chimneysweep
Cleaning chimney

Be very careful when doing this job. Strange as it may seem know someone who did not check which chimney belonged to which house and caused a few thousand pounds worth of damage to there neihgbours sitting room.

ajapale
Frequent poster
I woulnt go near a chimney with a forty foot pole

Soot is carcinogenic. In fact it was one of the first such substances discovered in the century before last. I woulnt go near a chimney with a fourty foot pole.
ajapale

gerry
chimney sweep

It is a real hassle. I got mine cleaned last year for €10 per chimney and not an ounce of dust around afterwards. Money well spent. Look in the Golden Pages for someone in your area. Most resident associations have a set if you are a member.

Susan
Registered User
Re: chimney sweep

I bought a set a couple of months ago for 29.99 from the local Co-Op.

okidoki987
Frequent poster
How much to get a chimney swept?

Hasn't been done for 10/12 years.
Solid fuel nothing special.

mts
Registered User
chimney

€30 last December

murray
Local user
Re: How much to get a chimney swept?

Rural Galway is 20 to 25 as far as I know.

Alan Moore
Frequent poster
Chimneyless Fireplaces.....

We are thinking about putting in an open fire in our place. We don't have a chimney and don't wan't to put it on an outer wall.

Went out to Hearths & Homes ane were sort of fobbed off. They said we'd have to build a chimney breast and vent out. I'm not 100% sure this is true based on some reading up on the net I've being doing. Anyone else come across what I am trying to do and any advice?

rainyday
Moderator
Re: Chimneyless Fireplaces.....

One of the refurb shows (possibly Location, Location, Location on C4) showed fireplaces without chimneys - they had 3 gel burners under the fireplace to generate the flames.

Fitzroy
Re: Chimneyless Fireplaces.....

I've seen these fireplaces advertised recently on tv by (I think) B&Q

Alan Moore
Frequent poster
Cheers folks......

Was in B&Q here. There range of fires here is quite limited. The gel fires don't throw out any heat. Been onto a company called cvo in the uk which seem to do what I am looking for. Have asked them have they any irish distrubutors

decbuck
Frequent poster
Wind down chimney

I have a really bad problem with the wind howling down my chimney. It is a real fire and we use it a bit so we cannot block it up.

Is there anything we can do.

I've heard the bendy chimney tops don't work that well??

Any tips would be great.

davelerave
Frequent poster
Re: Wind down chimney

there is a fan you can get for the top of a chimney,i wired one once for a pub but a cowl is he usual thingi'm sure there's other solutions

heinbloed
down with it

Close the chimney for good.It is of no use at the moment(even dangerous) and it wastes energy every day.That would enhance your safety,your health and hygiene(soot and ash blown in the room) as well as your wallet.

judge
Registered User
Chimney & Wind Noise

Has anyone got any ideas/tips on reducing the wind noise coming down a chimney ?

sueellen
Moderator
Re: Chimney & Wind Noise

Hi Judge,

I saw a post here some time ago which appears to be gone now. I think it recommended cutting one or more pieces of strong cardboard (e.g. from a heavy/stiff cardboard box) or plywood etc. to an appropriate shape so that they can be wedged up the chimney to lessen the effects of draughts and heat loss. Stuffing newpaper or polystyrene packaging up first can also help. You can probably get more professional vents fitted but I doubt that they'd be needed in most cases. Obviously these tips only apply in the case of an unused fireplace and if you do decide to light a fire at any stage don't forget to clear the blockage first!!!

Some other posts

patspost
Registered User
Smoke in sitting room- Chimney prob

Hi folks,
I have a prob in my new house, just got the fireplace installed the other day (nice job). We are in the house (timber frame) 3 months.

When we light a fire smoke is blown back into the sitting room when we close the sitting room door, it is fine when we leave the sitting room door open. The neighbours report no problems with their fireplace/chimneys.
There is an air vent in the room which is open.

I suppose we need a cowl, is there any particularily effective type ?, can I get the builder to install/supply this or is it my responsibility ?

I have a chimney guard on since the start so it shoukd not be blocked.

heinbloed1
Registered User
smoke

Every chimney needs to be cleaned at least once per year.Get this done first before you get the builder in.The cowl might be helpful as well.If the cleaning /sweeping of the chimney does not help the situation than there is something wrong with the way it had been constructed,either to short,to small in diameter etc..Have you opened the "damper"?
Open fires are bad for the environment and they are a waste of energy,even when not in use.So if the thing does not work after cleaning it and the builder won't repair it for free(it might be necessary to break down the entire thing and reconstruct it) than the best economical solution would be to close it for good at the top.That would save a lot of money going up the chimney (smiley),the carpets and the interior would also prefer this solution and your lungs as well because of the soot and dust that will trickle down all the time.

patspost
Registered User
smoke

Tks for that heinbloed1.
It is a new house so chimney should be clean.
I suppose the prob may be a down draft, curable by a cowl or possibly not enough updraft.
If the prob is not enought updraft, slightly harder to cure, well I suppose the answer is more draft into the room which is not ideal.

The fact that there is no smoke when the sitting room door is open means that there is no huge blockage in teh chimney at least.
I agree about a lot of heat lost, but I plan to block it at the bottom when not in use.

I will check that the air vent in the room is not blocked.
patspost

patspost
Registered User
smoke

Well talked to the site foreman the other day,
it appears that the installers of the fire place didn't put enough fibre glass inside the upper part of the surround, just creating a pocket for smoke to flow to!!, might sound unusual, but problem solved.

Some other posts

Joooolz
Registered User
Knocking In a Chimney

I've recently bought a house where there is a large chimney breast in the kitchen - it takes up way too much space in an already small kitchen.

I have seen some pictures in various magazines where a stove or cooker was placed into a hollowed out chimney. I would love to do this to maximise the space available but am unsure about the scale of the job. I would like to take about 6ft by 3.5 feet out of the chimney in order to put in a cooker/stove. We would not be taking our the chimney right through the house so I don't think that steel beams for support are necessary.

Has anyone done this before? Can anyone offer any advice on this type of job?

Thanks in advance!

Bren
Chimney

Don't know details exactly but we're planning to do this as part of renovation. I've been told its possible, there will be some cost involved in getting the chinmey knocked in and rubble taken away. You have to leave some of the chimney at either side of the opening for support I think. You aren't meant to have extractor fan going into chimney as it will cause buildup of moisture etc in chimney so that will have to be done though pipe in ceiling to the outside - not sure of details. Hope that helps, I'd be interested if anyone has more details.

heinbloed
Chimney

There is a reason why the chimney breast is LARGE.So knocking it apart would almost certainly have an impact to stability.Have you thought about a combi condensing boiler for heating?It would need no chimney at all.And the cooker hood could be run straight through the wall,similar to the boiler flue pipe.A combi condensing boiler would help you to gain a lot of space.Away with the chimney,away with the hot press.One or two square meters per floor.And lower heating bills as well.Check
w.sei.ie/home/index.asp
When comparing fuel cost with the aid of the "heating cost comparison sheet" at the SEI homepage use the 90% efficiency chart-most modern condensing boilers score even better than that.

zag
Administrator
Re: Chimney

joooolz - from what I understand of chimneys, they are structural elements and so are not to be approached lightly. Basically if you knock the bottom out then expect the rest of it to come tumbling down on top. We wanted to get one taken out of our kitchen when getting it redone (and this involved a lot of structural work already) and the builders reckoned it was a lot easier to leave it in place than to take it out.

z

Joooolz
Registered User
Re: Chimney

Heinblood - I am not sure if I am following what you are saying (pls excuse my ignorance re boilers). I am planning to put in a range cooker into the chimney - I do not see the connection with boilers.

Also, I know that if you take out the whole chimney from top to bottom, there is some support required. However, I did not think that this would be necessary when only taking out a portion of the chimey in one room. As Bren mentioned, you leave some support on either side of the "hole".

The strange thing about this chimney is that there is a large hollow chamber above the actual fireplace itself. The chimney sweep that recently came out to the house said that originally the fireplace may have been built to accomodate a range type cooker or a fire.

heinbloed
chimney

Hi joooolz!

I am in no position to tell you how to knock out out the chimney.It would be really better to get an engineer in to have a look,it could be dangerous to approach the job on a Sunday afternoon with a sledgehammer and a crate of beer.
Why do you want to use an expensive range when there are other/cheaper/more effective methods of cooking and baking?You could get an oven incl.cooker running on electricity for about €300 or the same for gas.And no trouble of chimney sweeping ,bringing home the coal/storing the fuel.Think about the trouble to clean a range,it's doors are sealed with asbestos and because this asbestos crumbles it needs replacement every couple of years etc..

Bren
Chimney

Joolz, as with you we want to make use of the space the chimney is taking up in the room without the hassle of removing the whole thing (massive massive job). We have a structural engineer working on the renovation for us so we'll be getting his advice re supporting the chimney if necessary once we break a hole into it. I'll post more info once I get it but you might be best off getting an engineer in yourself, I wouldn't trust a builder on something like that, they don't care if things fall down after they leave!

Hi, I am currently redocrating an old house and replacing a 1980's fireplace and gas insert with a cash iron fireplace and open fire. I've had the gas disconnected, gas fire removed. Theres an old back boiler sitting in the back of the fire (i can see a row of bars, maybe 5 or 6 bars). I presume I will need to remove this once I take out the fireplace? Does anyone know what this type of back boiler could be, whats involved in taking it out and if pipes etc will also need to be removed. Who would do this type of work?

Hello Everyone,

New to the forum but need help with my Chimneys(2) Urgently!!
Live in a dormer style house with 1 Gable chimney and 1 chimney with two awkward angles around.
There is leaking coming in the bedroom walls below both chimneys, 1 of the chimneys in particular is really bad with fluffy stuff now appearing around all the damp area. Have had numerous people up on the roof with wide ranging expertise and no one call tell what the problem is?? So frustrating.
Got someone to seal around the lead flashing of the valley with chimney tar but this made the problem even worse.
Is it possible that as the lead valleys and tiling look fine that the chimneys were not plastered properly, some hairline cracks are noticeable on the chimneys and maybe driving rain would force water into the cracks.
Anybody's response or knowledge would appreciated, frightened about the costs involved in repair but would just like to get to the root to sort it out. Thanks.

are both chimneys being used at the moment? Sometimes birds nest in chimneys can hold on to rain water which can then pass through the chimney stack. If not,it might be the top of the chimney around the pot that might be letting in water which would just require a bit of mortar.

Thanks so much for your reply, Both chimneys are in use but the house was empty for 2 years before I purchased it and i had the chimneys swept when I moved in.
I don't think anyone that has gone up on the roof ever checked oround the actual pot(the chimneys are about 5ft high so not so easy to check) but it's definitely a point, will get it checked asap.
I have been advised to replaster the chimneys(this is the small job) following that if the the leaks are still present then the big job which involves replacing the lead valleys and taking all the tiles off the roof and redoing everything may be necessary(Scary stuff would cost thousands, this is the advice I am being given by my roofers)Thanks you so much for your point about the pot, will get it checked, would save a lot of hassle if that was the Problem.
Take Care.
M.