fitting chimney cowl

xyz123

hi

I have been hearing a lot of wind noise coming from our chimney. It also makes the rooms very cold due to wind coming in.

a roofer just came around to have a look and has recommended fitting two cowls to ease the problem.

two quesitons.

1) is a quote of £150 incl parts and labour fair?
2) does cowls really make a difference to wind coming in?

ta

muckybutt

Sounds about right, cowls will stop the draught considerably, you must make sure though not to completely block off all the ventilation to the chimney though or you will end up with damp in the chimney breasts.

xyz123

muckybutt wrote: »

Sounds about right, cowls will stop the draught considerably, you must make sure though not to completely block off all the ventilation to the chimney though or you will end up with damp in the chimney breasts.

Thanks for your reply.

one more thing. are there any particular type of cowls? i was googling and this one came up, which looks quite different to others and claims to be designed to minimise heat loss while keeping ventilation. traditional cowls still have a large amount of ventilation grill space, which i am assuming is bad for heat loss!

http://www.chimneycowlproducts.co.uk/acatalog/Disused_Chimney_Terracotta_Cap.html

alleycat`

That isn't a cowl in the sense of a cowl that allows you to still use the chimney.

That is more of a capping device.

Do you actually still want to utilise the chimney?

GlynD

Alleycat is correct, those are capping devices.

We've had this problem too and went for this http://www.fluesupplies.com/product_info.php?cPath=27_53&products_id=597 it cost us £165 including fitting. It has reduced the downdraft by almost 100%.

xyz123

alleycat` wrote: »

Do you actually still want to utilise the chimney?

no. the original fire place in living room has been boarded and replaced with one of those electric decorative type (with bulb). The fire place in bedroom right above the living room has been completely boarded with only a vent left for air ventilation)

GlynD

Then it's the chinmney caps you want.