Open Fire - help needed

MissMotivation

I have a gorgeous open fire in my lounge that I have used several times this year, I had the chimney swept in February when I moved in and since then I have probably had a fire about 10/15 times with no problems.

Earlier today I lit the fire as usual but when I went upstairs the bedrooms was really smoky, I've put the fire out now but not sure what to do. Does the chimney need sweeping? Could it be that I used some big blocks of wood? Anyone have any advice?

Thanks in advance.

economiser

The chimney would not need sweeping after such little use. Was the wind blowing the smoke from the chimney back through open windows?

Is this the first use this winter. Cold chimneys sometimes take time to get a proper air flow but this usually results in smoke in the lounge.

I would try again and see what happens.

MissMotivation

No, the windows were shut and it's about the 4/5th time i've used it in the last 2 weeks......all the other times it was fine.

HugoSP

Your Chimney Needs Lining Urgently - Do Not Use Your Fire Until You Have Had The Problem Corrected Otherwise You Will Kill Yourself

Sorry to be so blunt but that is the truth. If your bedroom is smokey and the windows are shut then the smoke is getting in another way, probably through a hole in the chimney breast. The only safe way of preventing this is to get the flu properly lined.

If you live in a semi or a terraced house and the chimney is on the party wall then you have the added danger of killing your neighbours. This is not considered neighbourly and a dispute could arise.

One property we renovated has our next door neighbours chimney jutting into our house. We noticed that the roofspace above the ceiling was full of soot and that we could smell smoke when they had their fire burning. We persuaded him to get it fixed when se had ours done.

Expect to pay around £1300 for a complete and proper job in an average sized house, but get several quotes.

If you want to save money on the job, wait 6 months then get quotes. These guys are quieter in the summer as most people do not know their chimneys have problems then.

Canucklehead

HugoSP wrote: »

Your Chimney Needs Lining Urgently - Do Not Use Your Fire Until You Have Had The Problem Corrected Otherwise You Will Kill Yourself

Good evening: 100% agreement with you, HugoSP. We had a chimney fire when I was a student in Canada...our dog saved us from certain death with her insistent barking....the lining had disintegrated in the chimney.:eek:

HTH

Canucklehead

MissMotivation

Thanks........will get someone out to have a look at it......I had no idea it would be quite as bad as that.

Thanks for the warning.

teleaddict

Again, I can only support what HugoSP says. We had exactly the same with our chimney. Ours was fine until we had it swept. Sweeping it dislodged some of the pointing inside the chimney, causing it to "leak".

Unfortunately, i returned home on a freezing cold xmas eve, to a lovely roaring fire in the living room, but a smoke filled bedroom. With only 3 electric storage heaters from the 60's and sub zero temperatures outside, it was one of the coldest, miserable xmases we've had.

If you've no other form of heating, I hope you get things sorted soon

HugoSP

Until it happens to you or someone you know, you don't appreciate the real dangers.

All our working flues are lined. We have one chimney with 3 flues, each serving one room on a 3 story house. One flue that served a bedroom years ago is now sealed up. The other 2 are working fine now.

When we had the 2 working ones lined we found that the wisp (brick lining inside the chimney stack) between the lower ground floor flue and the bedroom flue was holed. Hence a fire in the lower ground floor woodburner could have smoked out the bedroom!

MissMotivation

Luckily I have gas central heating too so it's not so much of an issue. Only use the fire because it's so lovely to look at and sit in front of.....I've always wanted an old cottage with an open fire and now i've got one, shame I can't use it until I get the flue sorted!

spinningsheep

We have a similar problem with our upstairs too when we light the fire, however this has been rectified by keeping the window open, hey presto no smell or smoke, my housemate likes his room cold so everyones a winner

glastowinebar

Check out your attic if you have one, any cracks in your chimney breast will also show up there