Heat from gas fire flue damaging wallpaper. (photo)

paul5046

Hi

We are fitting a new gas fire. The problem is the heat generated that go's up the flue is damaging the wallpaper. We use the fire a lot and if the old one was on full the wall gets really hot. This in turn damages the wallpaper (comes away at the joint, bubles underneath). Anything i can do about this before i fit the new fire.
I did think of creating a shallow false chimney breast, but would rather not.

paddy's_mum

I don't believe that can possibly be safe - what's to prevent the wallpaper itself eventually catching fire?

I have a woodburner and even when it's going full pelt, the wall above only ever gets mildly warm. Do you think that your gas fire has an inadequate flue/lining?

I'd recommend that you speak to a fully qualified heating engineer.

paul5046

paddy's_mum wrote: »

I don't believe that can possibly be safe - what's to prevent the wallpaper itself eventually catching fire?

I have a woodburner and even when it's going full pelt, the wall above only ever gets mildly warm. Do you think that your gas fire has an inadequate flue/lining?

I'd recommend that you speak to a fully qualified heating engineer.

Not hot enough to catch fire, but enough to damage the wallpaper.

Doozergirl

Have you had it serviced? Seriously, that's not right. We had a fire like that against the wall when I was a child and it never did anything like that!

paul5046

Doozergirl wrote: »

Have you had it serviced? Seriously, that's not right. We had a fire like that against the wall when I was a child and it never did anything like that!

Its a 1970's house and the gap between the flue and the wall is quite thin.
Yes we have had the fire serviced.

ormus

ive lived in various houses and all of them had warm/hot chimney breasts, to some degree.
coal fire or gas fire.
and i dont remember any serious wallpaper issues.
maybe your problem is wallpapering skill? not the gas fire.

paul5046

andrew-b wrote: »

I suspect it's down to inadequate prep before wallpapering. Did you "size" the walls with paste before the paper went on or PVA the area? Filled/freshly plastered areas would be porous and judging from the area below the fireplace surround the area affected is such a surface. Porous areas will suck out the water content out of the adhesive causing it to dry too quick and not adhere properly. Also don't turn the fire on until the paper has had a few days to dry out.

It may be salvageable by slitting the paper down a seam, peeling back carefully, brush some paste behind and use your paper hanging brush to take out the bubbles and move excess paste to the seam where you can wipe off. But i suspect it will tear and you may have to strip a drop or two of paper and rehang new so it doesn't look a mess.

I left the plaster a week, then emulsioned it. When that was dry i wallpapered. I'm removing the centre strips now (not salveagble) and a lot if it has not stuck. Maybe what you say is right.

It does get very hot though, to the extent there is a crack in the wall which expands and contracts with the heat.

gas4you

Strip the wall paper and have the fire removed and a smoke pellet chimney test done as well as an internal visual inspection before using the fireplace/fire again.

paul5046

andrew-b wrote: »

I suspect it's down to inadequate prep before wallpapering. Did you "size" the walls with paste before the paper went on or PVA the area? Filled/freshly plastered areas would be porous and judging from the area below the fireplace surround the area affected is such a surface. Porous areas will suck out the water content out of the adhesive causing it to dry too quick and not adhere properly. Also don't turn the fire on until the paper has had a few days to dry out.

It may be salvageable by slitting the paper down a seam, peeling back carefully, brush some paste behind and use your paper hanging brush to take out the bubbles and move excess paste to the seam where you can wipe off. But i suspect it will tear and you may have to strip a drop or two of paper and rehang new so it doesn't look a mess.

Sizing is basically a few coats of diluted paste first, leave a few days, then hang the paper.?

I have removed the offending paper.

plumb1_2

paul5046 wrote: »

Hi

We are fitting a new gas fire. The problem is the heat generated that go's up the flue is damaging the wallpaper. We use the fire a lot and if the old one was on full the wall gets really hot. This in turn damages the wallpaper (comes away at the joint, bubles underneath). Anything i can do about this before i fit the new fire.
I did think of creating a shallow false chimney breast, but would rather not.

See this a few times, i bet its a pre-cast flue( ie flue bricks) in a 70's house. And the plaster is only about 20mm, when the flue gets warm it crack's the plaster. You can keep filling the crack's, but it will keep cracking. You could get a balanced flue fire to solve it.

paul5046

Thats exactly what happens.