Woodburner has cracked existing fireplace and surround.

John_the_Boy

You can get a waft of woodsmoke at times when you open the stove door to refuel - could it be that?
Also noticed that sometimes we can smell the woodsmoke from outside thru the window vents.
If it is very noticeable you might be getting some downdraft pushing smoke through the stove's air vents or possibly your chimney isn't air tight and some smoke is seeping through? Couldn't say for certain but if it happens all the time and it is very noticeable I would get a sweep in to check your chimney out and do a thorough test on it.

Hope you get it sorted.

steampunkmimi

I don't think so. I re-fuelled, then went to help spouse in the kitchen. Returned to a noticeable smell of woodsmoke. I closed the door before I went to the kitchen. IN any case, we need someone to check this out. Are we better asking a sweep,an installer.. or both? Constructive advice greatly appreciated.

John_the_Boy

I would say you should get your original installer to have a look as you only had the stove put in November.

Robwiz

It's definitely worth getting the installer back as there could be a serious problem. When my wood burning stove was installed, the installer found some wood battens in the wall construction less than 20cm from the stove, which is not allowed in the regulations as it's a fire risk. So any burning smell is a safety risk – apparently the wood can heat up, smoulder and then ignite. Therefore I suggest you don't use your stove until you have had it checked and if you can, check for hot spots under the plaster, in case wood underneath is burning.

The solution for my install (agreed with HETAS) was to fit a layer of vermiculite board inside the fireplace above the stove. It added a few hundred pounds to the bill but you can't put a price on peace of mind.

steampunkmimi

We'll have to get someone in, as there are cracks in the bricks in the chimney breast. Our mantelpiece shelf is wood, and 50cm away from the burner (I measure, to check). The cracked brick is 1m away from the burner, but up in the chimney part. Noticed that last night... eyes were drawn to a dark line amongst the brickwork, and realised there was a crack. There are bits dropping off the front of our bricks and the lintel at a steady rate. Installer not interested in looking... insists it's normal "thermal expansion". Can anyone recommend anyone who could check this out?


Really, really fed up. We spent months looking around for some we could trust to do this job, and specified that it was to be done properly. No cutting corners, no messing about. S now we have bits falling off. Thanks for replies thus far.

muckybutt

I take it that it was a HETAS registered fitter that did the work ?

If you don't get any joy from the installer and they were registered then get in touch with HETAS and start their complaints procedure.

Alycidon

steampunkmimi wrote: »

We'll have to get someone in, as there are cracks in the bricks in the chimney breast. Our mantelpiece shelf is wood, and 50cm away from the burner (I measure, to check). The cracked brick is 1m away from the burner, but up in the chimney part. Noticed that last night... eyes were drawn to a dark line amongst the brickwork, and realised there was a crack. There are bits dropping off the front of our bricks and the lintel at a steady rate. Installer not interested in looking... insists it's normal "thermal expansion". Can anyone recommend anyone who could check this out?


Really, really fed up. We spent months looking around for some we could trust to do this job, and specified that it was to be done properly. No cutting corners, no messing about. S now we have bits falling off. Thanks for replies thus far.

Dark line 1m above the stove in the brickwork, that sounds like soot. You mention in a later post a smell of smoke in the room. Your chimney is failing and smoke is probably entering the room through that dark crack. Is your carbon monoxide detector going off?. I would most strongly suggest that you don't use the stove any more until the issue is resolved.

What exactly are you burning in this stove?. If is Petro Coke ( Petroleum based smokeless fuel) then most stove manufacturers don't allow this to be burnt as the excessively high temperatures kill the stove.

This link will show you the popular smokeless fuels and their make ups,

http://www.coalmerchantsfederation.co.uk/products/smokeless-ovoids

Some inset stoves due to their design must always be fitted with a flue liner, ( all Morso's for example). Providing the stove can be sealed into the opening and then infilled behind with loose vermiculite and parged up at the flue outlet then providing the chimney is sound ( and a clay lined one ( post 1966) should be) then from a safety point of view there is no need to install a liner. However a liner will increase the air pull through the stove, make it burn harder (hotter) if required and enable the user to get the best out of it. Installing a liner is not a legal requirement under the building regs.

It sounds like the heat from your stove is causing this damage, this is unusual and fitting a liner would not have improved the situation, it would probably have made it worse as the stove would be burning hotter but it would have stopped smoke ingress into the room.

The installer should be Hetas registered and have issued you with a safety sign off form. You can check if he is on the Hetas web site. If you are only burning seasoned wood such as Ash etc then you should advise the installer of your intention to ask Hetas to investigate unless he resolves the issue to your satisfaction. If he is a member they will suspend his licence to sign off work until your case is resolved, the threat of that should sharpen his mind, its not as though the stove season is currently busy as its low season now. If he is not Hetas and has not signed it off then a whole new can of worms is opened, if thats the case and I suspect it might be then start a new thread and I will comment when I remember to get here.

However brickwork crumbling assuming it was in ok condition when the stove was installed sounds like the stove is getting excessively hot. You also said the lintel was crumbling, this should be a concrete beam, no way should that crumble, that is a concern. Check the installation manual for the top combustible clearance, but it sounds like the 500mm to your wooden beam should be ok.

Hope that helps.

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Alycidon

mervyn11 wrote: »

And some stove manufacturers actually recommend you use a liner whatever the state of your chimney.
Clearview for one.....

They all do, it helps the stove to achieve its efficiency and helps to prevent and smoke coming back into the room when the door is opened to refuel.

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steampunkmimi

The dark line in the brickwork is a crack where part of the brick has fallen off. Bits of brick have fallen off closer to the stove. We burn seasoned wood only (we have a moisture meter, and don't burn anything over 20%, as per manufacturer's instructions).

Carbon monoxide detector not reacting at all. It would appear I'll be contacting HETAS early next week. Thanks, everyone.

Alycidon

steampunkmimi wrote: »

The dark line in the brickwork is a crack where part of the brick has fallen off. Bits of brick have fallen off closer to the stove. We burn seasoned wood only (we have a moisture meter, and don't burn anything over 20%, as per manufacturer's instructions).

Carbon monoxide detector not reacting at all. It would appear I'll be contacting HETAS early next week. Thanks, everyone.

No probs, stove manufactures advise burning logs with a MC of 18% or below and ideally around 12%-14%. Having said that there is no way that a log of say 25% will cause damage, it just wont generate as much heat, dont though get to far above that.

Hetas will appoint one of their own engineers who will at one point in the past have been installer to visit your property ideally with the installer to look at the problem. It is important that the issue with the smell of smoke is resolved as well. Does smoke come back into the room when you open the stove door?, if so then you may have a downdraft issue, easily resolved with an anti downdraft cowl on the chimney pot.

I would certainly recommend installing a flue liner anyway, that would though be at extra cost to you but probably installed free.

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