Fireplace problem - whose responsibility?

claire_mc_2

Hi all,

I am currently a tenant in a flat with a fireplace. There is a gas fire and an open chimney. We are having an issue with bird droppings coming down the chimney and soiling the fire itself and the surrounding area. I've also heard some cooing recently so don't know if there are birds nesting up there.

I don't really know how this is supposed to work, but should there be some kind of cap in place to stop the birds getting in? Should my landlord be sorting this out? I don't really want to have to repeatedly clean up bird poo in my living room, surely it's a health hazard.

Thanks in advance for any advice.

LEJC

Is the fire a contained unit or something that has a living flame type?
Dependant on the type of fire that is is the fireplace will dictate if the chimney needs to be left open for ventilation...


Contact your LL who should be able to fit the correct type of cover on the external chimney if needed.

Hoploz

I'd say the chimney ought to be swept now and again to make sure there aren't any nests blocking it.

However, birds seem to like sitting on top which is most likely what's happening, in which case there's not that much you can do. You can get wire 'bird balls' that go on top of the chimney pot which might help. Can you see whether there's anything on the top? Trouble is, it's probably pretty high up, so unless there's another reason to get on the roof it's unlikely the LL is going to want to bother just to put a ball on top. (Maybe the chimney sweep could help?)

Alter_ego

Hoploz wrote: »

(Maybe the chimney sweep could help?)

In my experience chimney sweeps are good at knocking off caps on top of the chimney.

naturaljazz

When you have the flue serviced (as is the law for all gas appliances) you can have a bird ball put up there. Not sure if a chimney sweep does gas services (mine only does wood/coal). I assume the flue from the fire goes up the chimney, hopefully it is fully lines to the very top, so it is safe. Anything else would not be acceptable as gases could leak into bedrooms etc. As its gas it is very important it is a registered gas engineer (used to be CORGI but changed). The landlord must arrange this, and you must allow access and the landlord pays as gas is a safety issue for the tenant. You should get the bird issue solved then I would think. You may have all the services up to date etc. In which case ignore me

Alter_ego

naturaljazz wrote: »

When you have the flue serviced (as is the law for all gas appliances)

Which law would that be?

LEJC

Youre quite right alter ego...there is no law that I know of that a LL has to have a appliance or flue serviced....


The gas saftey certification is required but that does not automatically include or suggest that any part has been serviced,just checked.

naturaljazz

The Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998 deal with landlords’ duties to make sure gas appliances, fittings and flues provided for tenants are safe.
l.landlords are responsible for the maintenance and repair of flues,appliances and pipework provided for tenants use and the landlord must use a Gase Safe engineer .
In the query RE:birds and the chimney, the chimney forms part of the flue and as such a competent gas engineer would know if it was a legal instillation or otherwise. Only a safe instillation would be certified.
During gas appliance safety checks any parts that required changing or servicing for safety reasons were reported to the landlord and s/he may or may not choose to have these carried out (some do not and choose to opt out of gas fires for example) in which case the appliance is disconnected and rendered unusable on the grounds of safety. True, gas safety checks do not necessarily constitute maintenance of an appliance. In the case in question; the flue (chimney) for safety reasons would most likely need to be maintained to be certified.

bris

Alter_ego wrote: »

Which law would that be?

The law that makes landlords make sure all gas appliances and chimney systems are safe to use.


Every year the chimney needs a flue flow test to make sure it's clear and will not cause spillage (of carbon monoxide) back into the room.


So if you thought you were being smart about it, you were wrong.

G_M

naturaljazz wrote: »

When you have the flue serviced (as is the law for all gas appliances) you can have a bird ball put up there.....

is not really the same as

Every year the chimney needs a flue flow test to make sure...

A GasSafe engineer will use a probe to test flue flow. He won't 'service' the flue & is highly unlikely to install a bird ball.

OP - have you reported the problem in writing to the LL at the address provided? If not, do so. You actually have a duty to act in a tenant-like manner, as as the bird dropping are causing damage, failure to report this could result in you being responsible for ongoing damage.

I's a simple matter for the LL to fix.