Log burner but not chimney etc any possibilities?

lindseykim13

I love the old style log burners and have always wanted to have a proper fire with the nice prices of gas/elec i was wondering if there is a way of me getting like a stand alone/worktop burner? I have an 80's built house so no chimney and i can't install anything as its council any ideas?

DdraigGoch

Frankly, no. The burnt gases need to go somewhere - just the same as those from a car engine do ... and you wouldn't want those in your living room, would you? That's why you mustn't have a barbecue indoors .... the smoke and fumes from burning need to be vented and having the window open a] isn't enough and b] gets the place cold!!

Seriously, you'd be dead in a very short time if you tried it - please don't.

Steel_2

I know you said you were council but that doesn't seem to stop my net door neighbours doing all sorts of stuff to their house. They've just done the kitchen up with new flooring, replaced the doors on the units and laid tiles in the hall. The way they see it, they're there for the duration.

You could have a flue discretely fitted through an outside wall and have a log burner fitted.

amd

Fitting a solid fuel appliance and flue requires a building control warrant from your local council. Absolutely do not go ahead without consulting them first. There are regulations which would require to be adhered to before fitting a flue and a solid fuel appliance. The stove would probably need a solid concrete hearth built (some don't - but you'd need to be sure what you were buying 1st.) and if you had a stud (plasterboard) wall you'd need to be careful about the distance from it. The flue would also need to extend up to the roof, possibly above the ridge height. It all needs planned correctly. Please take proper advice from your local stove shop/council.

Steel_2

The company Stoves has a fairly good set of advice pages for log burners etc so it might be worth having a look on there. the link is here.

In terms of what your council will and won't allow a tenant to do, it's worth ringing them up to find out. My neighbours are currently having an area of hardstanding done outside their house and the council were fine with it as long as they paid for it themselves.

A lot of people would draw the line at improving a council house, on the basis that it's money down in the council's pockets and not theirs, but if you intend to be there for a long time it's worth considering.

The people we bought our house from were council tenants from the time it was built in 1949 until 1996 when they bought it. I know that they did a lot of DIY to it long before they ever considered buying it.