Sealing a Fireplace for the Winter

never_enough

I used a black bin bag full of old bubble wrap. Worked very well, stopped the draught & stopped the warm air whooshing up there in winter.

silvercar

Remember to remove all this paper/ bubble wrap/ black bags when you next light the fire.

Or we will have lots of threads, "there is a funny smell from my fire...."

mintyfresh

provided the chimney does not vent a gas fire there should be no serious problems.

however, if the chimney is totally blocked up, then moisture may form in the chimney itself. this could then penetrate internal walls, causing damage to decorations and plastering - always leave a small amount of ventilation for this purpose

stuart264

No gas fire so its fine What I have ended up doing is boarding it over but because of the way I had to use bolts to fasten the wood on there is a 2mm airgap all round. If it gets bad for drafts I will Duck Tape it over on 3 sides but I wont know that until the winter gets into full swing.

I am collecting up all the free newspapers to shred and bin bag to put behind it for added insulation.......unless someone responds to my post on freecycle asking for any spare bits of loft insulation.

I am actually surprised how much difference its made, even with just the board over and no inusulation this place is 3-4 degrees warmer.

Thanks for all the info and tips on how to do this, really appreciated as I am not the greatest DIY expert in the world