Chimney Liner

bhzmac1

We have just moved into our new house and are opening up the bricked up fire place and installing a Wood burner..the original plan was to smoke test the chimney and depending on the results either make repairs or install a liner... after opening up the half there is a liner already installed, my question is how do you tell what type of liner has been installed, as I know liners for solid fuels need to be double skinned and made of steel...is there an easy way well to identify the type installed?

suisidevw

Are there gas pipes heading into the room that have visibly been capped off etc as this could explain if it's a gas liner? If this is the case as I'm sure you know you'll need a new liner.

Having said that if you're going to the expensive etc of an expensive stove I'd also bite the bullet and line it yourself as you will obviously feel much happier knowing its history!!

bhzmac1

suisidevw wrote: »

Are there gas pipes heading into the room that have visibly been capped off etc as this could explain if it's a gas liner? If this is the case as I'm sure you know you'll need a new liner.

Having said that if you're going to the expensive etc of an expensive stove I'd also bite the bullet and line it yourself as you will obviously feel much happier knowing its history!!

No signs of a gas supply but the house has been renovated to a high standard including new gas supply and meter so I am guessing it would have been removed if present...

cyclonebri1

Suck it and see. Use the existing lining, smoke test and see how you go.

That chimney will have burnt coal for the last xzac years, and guess what?, no one died

bhzmac1

cyclonebri1 wrote: »

Suck it and see. Use the existing lining, smoke test and see how you go.

That chimney will have burnt coal for the last xzac years, and guess what?, no one died

This was my preferred option when I first came across it, the chimney was built for coal in the first place after all. I will be installing carbon monoxide alarms what ever route I take.

suisidevw

It may well not have been removed if a gas supply as it's inconvenient to do properly!!!

I'd definitely get a sweep round to take a good look and offer his thoughts rather than 'suck it up and see'!

cyclonebri1

suisidevw wrote: »

It may well not have been removed if a gas supply as it's inconvenient to do properly!!!

I'd definitely get a sweep round to take a good look and offer his thoughts rather than 'suck it up and see'!

Yes, but :money: remember.
Chimney sweeps were literally 10 a penny in my youth, wonder what 1 costs now?

thescouselander

I went through all of this last year and what I found was that not having the liner installed didn't make much difference to the all in cost of the fire plus installation. I can only assume the liner is where most places make their money and if you tell them not to use one they lump costs on elsewhere to maintain their profit margin.

rustyboy21

cyclonebri1 wrote: »

Suck it and see. Use the existing lining, smoke test and see how you go.

That chimney will have burnt coal for the last xzac years, and guess what?, no one died

Cyclonebri, I normally agree with you on most things, but OP, DONT DO THIS !!


It will most likely have been , in the past, where the CH boiler was fitted, as in a Back boiler. When they have renovated the house, they have most likely removed the boiler for scrap, but left the liner in.


If you use the liner that is there, without getting a HETAS Sweep to check it, you could kill yourself. Gas liners are a lot thinner than SF ones, the hot gasses will , at any time melt through the liner, but because the liner is sealing up the rest of the flue, including the chimney pot, there will be no where for the fumes to escape, so they will start leaking through the masonary, into your lounge, bedroom, loft etc. The first you will know, is when you have either had a fire in the flue, or you don't wake up.


It is not worth it. Liners are needed for a reason, don't try and cut corners.

muckybutt

HETAS this and HETAS that, all they are is another profit making organisation that do eff all for the money the engineers fork out for.

A good recommended sweep is all you need, I have been sweeping 9 years now - provide certification for jobs etc etc. Providing they can produce references and know what they are doing then go for it. Many times I have come across HETAS jobs that have been signed off that I have condemned as unsafe to use or have breached building regs - some of their fitters leave a lot to be desired !

As for suck it and see ? yeah great advice using something that is uninspected and could potentially either kill you or the other occupants in your house :mad:

tony6403

muckybutt wrote: »

HETAS this and HETAS that, all they are is another profit making organisation that do eff all for the money the engineers fork out for.

A good recommended sweep is all you need, I have been sweeping 9 years now - provide certification for jobs etc etc. Providing they can produce references and know what they are doing then go for it. Many times I have come across HETAS jobs that have been signed off that I have condemned as unsafe to use or have breached building regs - some of their fitters leave a lot to be desired !

As for suck it and see ? yeah great advice using something that is uninspected and could potentially either kill you or the other occupants in your house :mad:

My local authority insisted that I used a HETAS registered installer.
Out of interest for future maintenance , is a certificate from a chimney sweep not registered with HETAS recognised by any authority or company ?