Want wood burner but no chimney - where to start?

Maz1963

I want to investigate the possibility of having a wood burning stove installed in my home. I can't use what's left of the fireplace/chimney in the lounge as there's now a loft bedroom above it. There are various places around the house that would suit one, in particular a corner of an entrance hall, which is kind of middle of the house and would be a good central source of heat. But, where do I start? I went into a local stove showroom and the woman said they 'don't do surveys'. What I need is someone to come round and tell me what's possible, but if the stove retailers 'don't do surveys' then who can tell me?! Maybe it was just a duff salesperson. I will try somewhere else, but wondered if anyone had been in the same position. I can see on line that there are stoves with flue systems, but obviously I need an 'expert' to tell me where such a flue system might work in my home.

sevenhills

If you do not have a chimney breast a ‘twin wall’ chimney can be installed internally or externally – these are large, bright stainless steel chimney structures (but can be factory painted). If they are run internally they can be boxed in.


https://www.thestovehub.co.uk/stove-guides/guide-stove-installation

stuart45

Another option is to have an Isokern or similar chimney built.

MX5huggy

Look on the HETAS website for a (or a few) registered installer in your area. They are the people you need.

Maz1963

That's where I need to start - HETAS! Thank you very much. I have found another local supplier/installer via their website and will visit this week. They say they come out do to a survey, so don't know what the person at the other place was on about!


I'm not holding out much hope as the flue would need to go up to the ceiling (possible), but then through a wall, or rather inside the wall, and then up through the roof. But that's what I need the survey for!


Thanks for the help everyone.

Ectophile

It sounds like you have met a rubbish salesperson.


When I was buying a stove, the guy from the shop popped round to look at my fireplace. He then arranged for a local HETAS installer to visit to see what needed doing and give me a quote to install the stove.


You can have a twinwall flue that goes up from the stove and out through the roof. Or one that angles out through a hole in the wall, then up the outside of the wall.

Davesnave

Ectophile wrote: »

....Or one that angles out through a hole in the wall, then up the outside of the wall.

Making your house look like a Chinese take away that's run off and got lost.

Whatever you do, avoid that one. Wood burners are a fad for the majority. At some stage they will fall out of favour, leaving those with huge stainless steel chimneys tacked onto the side of their suburban houses looking like the daft people they are.

Otherwise, I agree that the stove place you visited is just another sign of a fad. i.e. ignorant sales staff who just do box-shifting. You want a proper stove shop that does design & fit.

Maz1963

Davesnave wrote: »

Making your house look like a Chinese take away that's run off and got lost.

Whatever you do, avoid that one. Wood burners are a fad for the majority. At some stage they will fall out of favour, leaving those with huge stainless steel chimneys tacked onto the side of their suburban houses looking like the daft people they are.

Otherwise, I agree that the stove place you visited is just another sign of a fad. i.e. ignorant sales staff who just do box-shifting. You want a proper stove shop that does design & fit.

There's no chance of that and I wouldn't want stainless steel sticking out and up the side of my house anyway! The corner is in an 'inside room' with no external wall, but the corner seems to line up with the wall on the upstairs landing, and then after that is roof. I am hoping this might be an option, if a flue is 'allowed' to run that way. I'm conscious of all the wood in floors and roofs, but I guess there are rules around distance between hot surfaces and wood and that a good 'expert' will know all that and be able to advise.


I also have a 'useless' fireplace in the lounge. Previous lot, after they converted the loft into a bedroom, put a very expensive granite hearth and stone surround against the now useless fireplace opening, but no fire! If I find a good retailer then I may ask them to advise on a nice electric fire for there too, as a focal point/occasional heater. I'm put off by noisy fans though.

Davesnave

Double insulated flues can pass through other rooms and roofs etc without serious problems. There are plenty of Scandinavian examples, because many of their houses have a high % of timber in their construction and are more open-plan than most of ours..

Gloomendoom

What is the reasoning behind fitting a stove?

FreeBear

Davesnave wrote: »

Double insulated flues can pass through other rooms and roofs etc without serious problems.

Even with the flue being insulated, it will radiate heat in to the room it passes through. If the OP still has the chimney stack on the roof to match the fireplace downstairs, running a flue straight up would be the quickest option. Else it would mean having the Chinese takeaway stack poking through the roof elsewhere.

From memory, the flue needs to project something like 600mm above the height of the ridge.