Huge inglenook - stove or open fire?

[Penners]

URL boo-boos are widespread.

If you need a therapist, why not visit www.therapistfinder.com?

Powergen's italian subsidiary: www.powergenitalia.com.

Want to find an expert in a certain topic? Try www.expertsexchange.com.

And so on.

 

[Cloudscape]

Sadly, many of the unfortunate web addresses were created deliberately. It's quite charming to imagine someone having the innocence to choose one of the (many) domain-name 'clangers'... but, for instance:

Powergen doesn't have an Italian division http://www.museumofhoaxes.com/hoax/weblog/permalink/powergen_italia

 

[Moo]

Somewhere oop north there's a T-junction with signposts pointing to Wombwell and Peniston.

 

[David Dyer]

Most likely to be cement particle board.
http://www.fgfgroup.co.uk/construction/building/cement-particle-board.htm

 

[Penners]

Sadly, many of the unfortunate web addresses were created deliberately.

Well, of course they were! But they're still fun. :wink:

 

[Ushy M]

Most likely to be cement particle board.
http://www.fgfgroup.co.uk/construction/building/cement-particle-board.htm

Yes! that's the stuff - sorry, took me a bit to track it down.

 

[Tom]

Jacqy - that's beautiful; what a room! Can you post us some more PPUK Porn? Your project seems to have come on a long way and I can't wait to see the rest!

We had a stove fitted in ours but chose not to have a register plate.

Best not tell the man from the ministry. Incidentally why no register plate? Surely it will make the stove more efficient in heating the room?

I have yet to construct/fit our register plate and was wondering what to make it out of. The original plate I removed was thin metal sheet, but no longer fits since I removed the vertically laid patio stones and restored the inglenook to its original size. I had planned to make a wooden frame and screw fire-resistant plasterboard to the underside with suitable gap around the flue, but wonder whether I should be going for metal sheet again?

Of course, the moment I put in a plate, Penners will be urging me to fill the void around the liner with insulating vermicelli or something....

Thank you, FamilyWiggs for your kind comments I did, at one time, open up my whole album on PhotoBucket by providing a guest password until Evelyn informed me that she had been allowed FULL access with the guest password, including the option to change / edit / delete my files!!!! Fortunately it was Evelyn and she advised me straight away...I remain hugely grateful to her for that. Anyway, since then I've not allowed a guest password to all and sundry as I'm worried the same thing could happen again. If you PM me and let me have your email address I can send you some more pics or let you have a temporary guest password. Let me know exactly what sort of porn you'd like ie which rooms etc. No comments necessary, Penners!!! :lol:

I didn't use a registry plate for a few reasons;

1. they're not mandatory
2. The only heat I'd lose would be a chinmeny's worth, as the flue goes through a tight bit at the very top which it packed out with insulation
3. The small amount of heat going up the chimney space helps to warm the wall which, upstairs, is on the landing (if you know what I mean). Otherwise, that part of the wall would be quite cold and could be subject to condensation from the warm air in the house. I hope that makes sense!!
4. Being able to gaze up the vast chimney space is great...in fact, it's the first thing most people do when they walk in the room! :roll:
5. The wall inside the chimney is in quite good condition, so the amount of debris/dust etc that comes down is minimal

So, there you go...5 good reasons for not having a registry plate

Jaqy

 

[DaveBrigg]

Most likely to be cement particle board.
http://www.fgfgroup.co.uk/construction/building/cement-particle-board.htm

Thanks, perfect timing.
Edit
I have just tried looking up more information. Cement Particle board is given a class 0 fire performance, which means it can be used for fire partitions etc, but according to the manufacturer linked above, it is made from wood chip and cement. I can see why this would be appropriate for delaying the spread of fire in a building, but would any product containing wood survive regular heating to several hundred degrees, as would happen if it was placed next to a stove flue?

 

[MdB]

Try burning a thin plastic / paper cup full of water with a blow torch. The water will boil before the paper burns.

https://www.physics.purdue.edu/demos/display_page.php?item=3B-04

If heat conduction of the cement is high enough, the wood won't get hot enough to burn. The fact that it claims to be fire rated suggests that this is something they have tested too though use around a stove may not be ideal as you suggest as the board may get too hot after a prolonged heating period.

 

[sue gazzard]

Hi all - thanks to everyone who posted replies back in Sept 2009. i got a couple of quotes for stoves, then put the balloon back whilst i thought about what i really wanted to do. its worked brilliantly all winter but in the last few days has developed a slow-ish puncture/leak - goes down over about 3 days. Sods Law that at present Im just too hard up to go the stove route anyway, but i'm also really enjoying having the big inglenook as gallery space for art & objects. Sooooo...I would like to beg help and advice on a slightly different approach...

First, does anyone know how I can find the leak in the balloon & then repair it?

Second, advice on how I could otherwise stop all the heat going straight out of the top of the chimney - either by blocking off the chimney void above head height (if with a metal plate how to stop the noise of rain battering down on it?) or capping the chimney and accepting that it would be necessary to heat the air in the chimney void up to the temperature of the rest of the kitchen (but hoping that it would then remain fairly stable...?)

Thanks once again for advice & help.

Blondie

 

[Flyfisher]

A 'register plate', as previously discussed, is the usual way of closing off a large chimney. I presume it could be made of plain wood if you're not going to have a fire/stove anymore, but might be better to use something a bit more fire-proof in case of a later change of plan.

If you have a lot of rain falling into the chimney then it's worth capping the chimney pot. There are various designs to choose from, but it's best to get one that prevents rain but not air from entering the chimney. Ventilation is a good thing to have in a chimney.

As for your chimney ballon leak, remove the balloon, inflate it and - if you can't already detect the leak by ear or feel - dunk it in a bucket or bath of water and look for a stream of bubbles. If your balloon is like ours then it'll be a thick form of polythene-type material. This is not always easy stuff to glue but I would try something like Aquasure: http://www.watersportswarehouse.co.uk/shop/sailing-boating/accessories/mcnett-aquasure-repair-adhesive-293578.html

 

[sue gazzard]

Hi Flyfisher
Thanks for that.

Chimney balloon too big to fit in the bath, but I get your drift....

If I don't put in a register plate could anything be wrong with simply capping the chimneys? (they would be kept aired from below of course)

I have wondered about simply inverting straight-sided frost proof terracotta flower pots over the top of the pot......... :roll:

 

[MdB]

You want some airflow through the chimney so don't seal it completely. It doesn't have to be much though. You can get chimney caps designed for the job.

 

[LadyArowana]

Chimney balloon too big to fit in the bath, but I get your drift....

You might try covering it section by section is a solution of soapy water ( something that froths ) and watching to see where bubbles form, that should be your leak.

 

[Flyfisher]

Chimney balloon too big to fit in the bath, but I get your drift....

That's a serious chimney balloon - ours would fit in a sink, but then it was only used in a 9-inch flue. Given the size, soapy water seems like a good idea.

I suppose you could just cap the chimney with a flower pot and see what happens, but you'll probably lose a fair bit of heat up the chimney (assuming the cap won't be fully airtight. There's also the issue of 'chimney reversal' where cold air can come down the chimney into the house, bringing sooty smells with it. That's why we use a chimney balloon outside of the fire-lighting season.

Chimney behaviour can be greatly influenced by its position within the house (central or external) and external things such as trees. Indeed, they often seem to have a life of their own and can take a bit of getting used to.

 

[Penners]

If I don't put in a register plate could anything be wrong with simply capping the chimneys? (they would be kept aired from below of course)

I have wondered about simply inverting straight-sided frost proof terracotta flower pots over the top of the pot

As MdB says, it's very important that you have a bit of air flow through the chimney.

As for your terracotta pot idea, I suppose that might be OK, provided the pot:-

1. Is truly frost- and weather-proof,

2. Is going to allow air circulation within the chimney, while keeping rain out,

3. Absolutely will not come off, no matter how strong the winds. A falling pot could wreak a fair a amount of damage to your roof tiles (or, indeed, whatever the roofing material is).

If I were you, I would invest in a proper chimney cap. It may be a bit more expensive than your pot idea, but a great deal cheaper than getting in a roofer to fix busted tiles!

Here's probably the most widely used type of "bonnet" chimney cap: http://www.hepworthterracotta.co.uk/chimney-pot-cover.jsp

However, if you also want to conserve as much warm air as possible inside the house, it's best to choose a more closed capping system - just so long as it does still allow air circulation. Here's one that claims to do that: http://www.hotline-chimneys.co.uk/products.asp?recnumber=1141

 

[sue gazzard]

Thanks all - I have now discovered C-caps for the inglenook chimney and blocked off fireplace chimneys, and will try the soapy water on the balloon when I can face the mess! That'll be next Monday then....

 

[Penners]

Any particular reason why messes can be faced on a Monday?

 

[FamilyWiggs]

The only mess I like is Eton Mess.

 

[MdB]

Any particular reason why messes can be faced on a Monday?

Messes can always be faced on Monday. The trick is not to specify which Monday..