Woodburners, installation and conflicting advice!

RHYSDAD

Another thread!!!

Well, i bought a Charnwood DEFRA approved woodburning stove which is now sitting in my hall awaiting installation. I have to alter the fireplace so these costs are just to fit stove.

I've had three quotes from different outfits, two HETAS registered and one who fits but get LBC to sign off.

First guy turns up, "yeah mate, no bother £400 to fit or if i supply the liner then it's a grand, job done bish bosh, luvvly jubbly, no VAT, easy!"

Hmmm.......

Second outfit, very thorough, took ages but very reluctant to fit our stove and wanted £1350 + VAT but reluctant to fit our stove, they wanted to supply it.....

Hmmm......

Third chap, very nice, very thorough but it's near £1400 to fit and i have to make application (and pay for) Building officer to sign it off so add another £200 to that. He mentioned about a bird beak in the chimney which the others didn't and has added £250 + VAT per day 'in case of any unforseen works that need carrying out'. He already wants £1400 so possibly another £300 a day is a bit rich.


Hmmm....

My brother has a Listed Building company and his thoughts are that we fit it. He's arguing that if we have to get the BR approval then we fit it and if it passes then we've done a good job and if it fails we don't use it. I can get the liner installation parts, he has scaffolding etc etc so i'm in the fortunate position at not having to fork out loads of money on Labour. We've read through part J and gleaned the main points which are:

Chimney must be sound, free of obstruction and in good order.
Hearth has to extend at least 150mm each side and 300mm to the front. Has to be 125mm minimum thickness if non combustible with a defined edge.
CO monitor that has to be fitted 300mm from a wall on the ceiling no more than 3m from the appliance. Must be sealed unit conforming to BS EN50291 :2001
Liner, minimum of 5" to be 316 grade stainless steel, fitted the correct way round conforming to BS EN 1856-1:2003 0r 2:2004
Information plate to be filled out as appropriate and affixed to wall next to electricity meter.
600mm minimum clearance from any combustible materials.
All joints must be gas tight and sealed. Register plate to be installed at chimney opening.

I've probably missed an obvious one but any pointers, advice or corrections heartily accepted!!

I'm just unsure about getting more quotes in, being told conflicting advice and so on. It's a bloody minefield this woodburner lark.....

suisidevw

As you say, fit it yourself and get BC to sign it off. Sounds like you're sensible and know what your doing so I'm sure you'll be fine! You probably won't even need scaffolding, just some roof ladders! Have a look at this link, you can get the different grade liner and get loads of bits chucked in for free and free delivery: http://www.fluestore.com/Chimney-Liner/Solid-Fuel

hethmar

If you have someone a bit savvy, do it yourself. We install stoves but have seen some horrendous jobs supposedly done by qualified fitters. Its not rocket science, just follow the regs exactly and get Buildings Control in to sign it off.

Just checked your list - use 6" dia. and the 904 grade liner. You need sweep access. Also you need to fit an approved CO monitor now. We use the Fire angel CO-9X. We always insulate the liner with vermiculite or lica backfill or in bigger flueways, with rock wool wraps. And pot hangers are not good, you have the weight of the liner hanging on one point. Use a top plate, clamp and insert (for the top most vulnerable area of the liner).

Greenfires

Given the choice of those three I'd say have a read of the regs (part J) and do it yourself, and then get BC to sign it off. Like hethmar I've seen some real bad jobs done and signed off by HETAS fitters - though I must say they're not all bad, and those I know personally are nothing like the ones you've found!

The only other thing is to make sure you only burn decent dry wood once it's in - don't go for the cheapest rubbish you can find and expect good results!

Cheers,

Andy

suki1964

Do it yourself - if you are sure you understand the regulations and are happy with getting on the roof

RHYSDAD

hethmar wrote: »

If you have someone a bit savvy, do it yourself. We install stoves but have seen some horrendous jobs supposedly done by qualified fitters. Its not rocket science, just follow the regs exactly and get Buildings Control in to sign it off.

Just checked your list - use 6" dia. and the 904 grade liner. You need sweep access. Also you need to fit an approved CO monitor now. We use the Fire angel CO-9X. We always insulate the liner with vermiculite or lica backfill or in bigger flueways, with rock wool wraps. And pot hangers are not good, you have the weight of the liner hanging on one point. Use a top plate, clamp and insert (for the top most vulnerable area of the liner).

The stove can be swept through the stove, i won't need a separate access will i?

alleycat`

RHYSDAD wrote: »

The stove can be swept through the stove, i won't need a separate access will i?

Some stoves can't be swept through the stove body.
I think hethmar just meant generally make sure there us some level of access.

(if i'm wrong sorry for putting words in your mouth hethmar)

muckybutt

RHYSDAD wrote: »

The stove can be swept through the stove, i won't need a separate access will i?

Provided you can fully access the flue pipe from inside the stove you shouldnt have a problem, I can with our Charnwood Cove II but just for added accessability I have also an inspection plate in the first 1M of flue pipe.

hethmar

I was generalising, you would be suprised how many calls we get after a sweep finds he is unable to clean the flueway. The pioneer can be swept through the stove, but if you cant sweep sufficiently then you should have an access.

funstuie

I am in a similar situation to the OP. Looking to get a woodburner (Esse 125) fitting in our new house (which is currently building site), I can't find a local installer for love nor money locally to even come and quote for fitting. So I have been reading up and got some quotes for materials and I am going to do it myself. Just found a roof ladder extension for my ladder so I don't need scaffolding.

Doing it myself will obviously save money but I want to make sure I do it right.

hethmar

Just get Buildings Control in to sign it off when you are finished.