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Anonymous
Guest
I live in a 18c cottage with an inglenook which has a hood fitted. However, smoke leaks out through the chimney walls! Is fitting a liner in the chimney the best way to resolve this problem?
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Anonymous
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Yes.
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Anonymous
Guest
When this sort of thing happens you need to check the whole chimney. Before you do anything else please check that there are no purlins or other lumps of wood built into the stack. Very often the builders just built in the purlins and whacked a bit of mortar over the end of the timber as a fire precaution. If your chimney is leaking from the mortar joints that sort of rudimentary fire protection may have failed aswell. In the worst possible scenario these can smoulder away for god knows how long before eventually bursting in to flames.
I have also found charring on the back of first floor skirting boards attached to chimney stacks! Mike.
I have also found charring on the back of first floor skirting boards attached to chimney stacks! Mike.
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Anonymous
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Thanks Mike. various parts of the chimney walls have been repointed over the years and some quite recently. However, I am concerned with pointing in the gap between the ground floor and 1st floor as I can't see how I can get to it to examine it without removing floorboards! Also, the chimney narrows at the halfway point so it will be difficult to access to examine! Any ideas?
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Anonymous
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Steve - jobs like this are a bitch so you have to just find the easiest way. Is the chimney big enough to tackle the work from inside? Perhaps you could go really historic and shove a small boy up there to do the job for you!?
Mike.
Mike.
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Anonymous
Guest
Steve, we have recently moved & are experiencing the same problem. Some joints on the chimney breast have soot marks & you can see smoke coming through when a fire is first lit. Have you managed to sort your problem, has anyone else had similar issues?
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Anonymous
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Zac - in this case I reckon a chimney liner is your best bet - unless you can get up into the chimney to replace it, clearly, the parging on the chimney has long gone and the mortar joints are eaten away too. You could repoint but it's not going to be easy where a chimney vanishes under ceilings, and a leaking chimney is a health hazard and a fire hazard.
Some posts below on chimney liners...
Some posts below on chimney liners...
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Anonymous
Guest
Zac, I plan to install a chimney liner in the spring. After much research this appears to be the more practical solution all round. Where I can get to the chimney I am re-pointing but as already commented there are plenty of areas that can't be re-pointed (between floors etc) so a liner is the best solution.