a fire certificate.

[robgil]

my insurance has said they need a fire certificate so i can light my open fire , whats one of these then? they were far from helpfull in telling me exactly what it is.
do i need to get the fire brigade to give me this?

 

[Jon Maine]

I guess that as you are doing major works you will be using building control either privately or LA type, they should be able to tell you what they expect.

If you have a fireplace/ stove installed then you need a Hetas engineer or to do it yourself under building control supervision.

So I guess they are either asking for a certificate from either a Building Control surveyor or a hetas engineer.

Might be wrong though........

 

[Penners]

Or they may simply want a certificate to show that the chimney has been swept.

As Jon said, they should be clearer about what they're asking for.

 

[Flyfisher]

Or they may simply want a certificate to show that the chimney has been swept.

I've never had an insurance company even ask if we have open fires (here or at other properties), nevermind if we have swept the chimney.

But I agree about asking the insurance company precisely what they want. If they can't explain what they want, how can anyone provide it?

 

[Schoolmarm]

It is thatched though.

 

[Flyfisher]

Ah, of course.

OK, I'll fall back on my second sentence!

 

[robgil]

i spoke to a chimney sweep this evening , he said it could either be a sweep cert to say its been swept and is ok to use or it could be a safety cert in which case its pressure tested , cctv inspected with a camera and lots of other stuff. his exact words to the tune of ''to be honest mate , if its a safety cert they want i really wouldn't bother , it costs an absolute fortune and your chimney is very likely to fail anyway''.

i shall give them a call tomorrow.

i had the same problem with fire extinguishers , i need two in the house but they couldn't say which kind , just ''what ever is appropriate to put out the fire at hand''.
i now have one of each. :?

 

[Schoolmarm]

Ah, of course.

OK, I'll fall back on my second sentence!

I was only having a guess :lol:

 

[Flyfisher]

i had the same problem with fire extinguishers , i need two in the house but they couldn't say which kind , just ''what ever is appropriate to put out the fire at hand''.
i now have one of each. :?

Forgive my cynicism but ''what ever is appropriate to put out the fire at hand'' sounds, to me, like a guaranteed get-out-of-paying-any-claim clause by the insurance company because if you don't manage to put out a fire then you obviously didn't have the 'appropriate' extinguisher.

 

[Jon Maine]

i spoke to a chimney sweep this evening , he said it could either be a sweep cert to say its been swept and is ok to use or it could be a safety cert in which case its pressure tested , cctv inspected with a camera and lots of other stuff. his exact words to the tune of ''to be honest mate , if its a safety cert they want i really wouldn't bother , it costs an absolute fortune and your chimney is very likely to fail anyway''.

i shall give them a call tomorrow.

i had the same problem with fire extinguishers , i need two in the house but they couldn't say which kind , just ''what ever is appropriate to put out the fire at hand''.
i now have one of each. :?

I suspect what you need to do is simply line the chimney and put a stove on the bottom having that work certified by either a Hetas engineer or if you do it by a building control officer. It does not seem necessary to pressure test/inspect as it will almost be a forgone conclusion that it will fail for several potential reasons.

If you can show it has been brought up to a safe modern standard the it should not be an issue. Also having a woodburning stove means it is easier to regulate the heat and use far less firewood than on an open fire.