Opening up a fireplace

Norfolk_Jim

We have an electric fire in our living room where the open fire used to be. It was there when we bought the house but its too expensive to run.
I'd like to open up the fireplace again and have a small open fire.
I'm concerned it wont be just a straightforward case of looking up the chimney to see if its clear. Mine is a terraced house and although I dont have a loft cavity, my neighbour does and the chimney stack is shared with him.

I'm presuming I need someone competent to inspect the chimney and fireplace and certify(?) it safe to use but I dont know who to approach or where to start.

Any suggestions?

martinthebandit

If it was me I would open it up and then arrange for a sweep to come and sweep the chimney, you are going to need it to be swept before using it anyway.

While he is sweeping it I would ask him for any advice he could give about what needs doing before you use it.

muckybutt

For starters you must get a sweep in, give it a good fettle and from what comes down he should be able to assess the state of the lining of the chimney.
Depending how old the house is - what comes down and the length of time there hasn't been a fire in there could lead to a few things.
1) If the feathers in the chimney appear to be breached then a full sealed pressure test would be required. If leaks are found you would need to get the chimney relined which is ££££'s
2) If fire hasn't been lit for a long time it will inevitably be damp which can lead to draw problems to begin with.

Ben84

Unfortunately, if you want to save money, I would completely abandon the idea of using an open fire. Their exceptionally low efficiency results in them being the most expensive source of heat I know of. Far higher than electric bar heaters even.

Anyway, I'm wondering what fuel sources and appliances you already use in your house? Often it's most cost effective to use these as much as possible to supply the heating needed.

cyclonebri1

Ben84 wrote: »

Unfortunately, if you want to save money, I would completely abandon the idea of using an open fire. Their exceptionally low efficiency results in them being the most expensive source of heat I know of. Far higher than electric bar heaters even.

Anyway, I'm wondering what fuel sources and appliances you already use in your house? Often it's most cost effective to use these as much as possible to supply the heating needed.

I somewhat disagree with that as a generalisation.

You have to factor in what the OP will use as a fuel source, how they will obtain it, etc.

There is also the effect an open fire has on the health of the house, it will provide a necessary source of ventilation, reducing by far most traces of condensation.

You also need to factor in the aesthetic value of a coal or log fire, plus the feeling of well being that roasting in front of a winter warmer gives;);)

Ben84

cyclonebri1 wrote: »

I somewhat disagree with that as a generalisation.

You have to factor in what the OP will use as a fuel source, how they will obtain it, etc.

There is also the effect an open fire has on the health of the house, it will provide a necessary source of ventilation, reducing by far most traces of condensation.

You also need to factor in the aesthetic value of a coal or log fire, plus the feeling of well being that roasting in front of a winter warmer gives;);)

I assumed they would be buying wood or coal at average prices. There's a website that shows some example calculations of useful heat output and its cost from different fuels and appliances:

http://www.confusedaboutenergy.co.uk/index.php/heating-and-hot-water/heating-units

They would have to find an incredibly low cost source of wood/coal to close that price gap. It's massive due to open fires sending so much of their heat up the chimney.

Anyway, some people do like their open fire, but I was glad to replace mine with radiators. They're so much more efficient, making them better for the environment and cheaper to use, as well as not contributing to indoor air pollution and not producing any grime or dirt in the house.

martinthebandit

Hmmm we have an efficient gas central heating system and a log burner, it's -2 outside with a real feel of -8

Central heating is off but the log burner is chugging away nicely and the room is toasty warm.

I don't care which is most efficient I know which is nicer to sit in front of, and an open fire would be even better from an aesthetic point of view.

Ben84

martinthebandit wrote: »

I don't care which is most efficient

However, from their original question, it seems that the OP is dissatisfied about the running cost of their electric fire. That's why I doubt that replacing it with an even more costly to use open fire is likely to be a good solution.

martinthebandit

Ben84 wrote: »

However, from their original question, it seems that the OP is dissatisfied about the running cost of their electric fire. That's why I doubt that replacing it with an even more costly to use open fire is likely to be a good solution.

Fair point.

Although one advantage not often considered is that you pay for your fuel before you use it, you are not wondering how much the bill for the heating is going to be.

Plus (with a log burner anyway) there are opportunities for cheap or free fuel.

Norfolk_Jim

My thanks for your advise - those are the sorts of things I need to know.
We have gas fired central heating but our financial state is such that we rarely turn it on - it has be freezing before we do. Black mould has started to grow on the walls behind our sofa.
We definitely cant afford to turn the electric fire on.
I thought that any heat no matter how inefficient would be better than no heat plus it would be nice to be able to sit in a room with a fire in it - it would be more "homely".
I would not be buying in anything. I can get some free wood from the forestry dept at work and I used to be a woodsman so I know the burning qualities of various woods and the problems some cause and others dont - but I know nothing about chimneys and open fires in houses.
SO - my first port of call is a sweep but if it turns out the chimney needs relining I can forget it as it will cost me big time - right?

Dark_Star

Depends where you get the quote for a chimney liner....we went to one town (thinks it's a bit posh) & another (normal) & there was a major difference! The posh town assumed you had tons of money & quoted far more per metre than the normal town. We had the "normal town" company install a log burner & liner for quite a reasonable amount....try online too...

Our logburner is great - going full blast at the moment with the central heating as a backup to take the chill off other rooms. We also have a small fireplace in a bedroom which is usuable. Do you have that option?