Well, my wood burners are in but.......

[Tom]

.......I have a gaping hole in my roof and no cowls on either flue!! Here's the reasons;

Gaping hole

The original chimney stack was hacked off in the sixties, down to gutter level (it's a external stack). Next year, we intend to rebuild the stack upwards from gutter level. In the meantime, we intend to move into the house (well, that's the plan, loosely!!) so we had the stoves fitted. The agreement with the fitter was to do a temporary job to enable us to use the stoves but a job that we could extend next year when we rebuild the stack. The job was 'finished' as 7.30pm last night. On inspection this morning we have a gaping hole in the 'roof' of the stack, where the tiles have been removed to get the flue through. Fitters reason; it's a temporary job. Well, yes, but I didn't particularly want all the rain from the roof running into the house all winter!! He tells me to just put some lead flashing round it. Well, fine, but what do I put it onto to? I can't hang lead flashing in thin air!! Good job my builder's on site. He's going to fit a finishing plate for me later today and finish it off properly.

No cowls

The job is left with 2 rigid flue pipes out of the roof on the stack, with no cowls. The fitter says we don't need cowls at all; people only use them to stop birds going down and to finish it off nicely. Can anyone comment on this please? I thought they reduced the down-draught and increased the draw, too....but I might be wrong.

Needless to say, I haven't paid for this job yet and neither will I until I'm satisfied with the job! Oh, and yes, these are HETAS installers.

I'd be grateful for any comments, particularly regarding the cowls. Thanks.

Jaqy

 

[Flyfisher]

We only had cowls fitted to prevent birds trying to nest in the chimney, as they had been doing for years previously. Also to prevent rain getting in.

Compared to an open fire, I don't believe draw is much of a problem with a stove because there is no other path for the hot gases. With an open fire, the heat can escape from the fireplace into the room if the chimney doesn't work very well (usually until it's heated up).

So my strictly amateur non-HETAS view is that your fitter is probably correct that a cowl is not really necessary.

 

[Nemesis]

We had a revolving cowl removed - it used to get stuck (soot) and caused more problems than it cured! A wire cage thingy is a useful idea though.

We do have a Bardon Mill anti-downdraught pot fitted on one chimney though, as indeed do most people in the district, and that seems to work well.

 

[Tom]

Thanks for the replies above. At least my mind is settled on the fact that this part of the job, at least, is not a disaster. Thanks, guys

The fitter said earlier that he would send one of the guys back later this afternoon to weather proof the roof. However, in the meantime, it's started to chuck it down and the rain is steadily dripping into the bathroom and onto the floor :evil: Anyway, another phone call later and the lads have just turned up and reckon 'We'll 'ave it fitted in 10 minutes, luv'. I think 10 minutes is a bit ambitious but we'll see. As long as they stop the rain coming in, I don't care how long it takes!!

Jaqy

 

[Tom]

Well, it looks like the panic's over. The roof is now water-tight and the big stove in the lounge is lit!! Woo-hoo I've waited years for this moment!!! I've taken lots of pics and will post some later when I've got a bit more time. I'm soooooo happy. This is one of our big milestones that I'm sure most of you will appreciate

Jaqy

 

[Nemesis]

Brilliant - but get that stove warmed SLOWLY - you don't want it to crack!


(Yes been there done that....)

 

[Tom]

Thanks, Nemesis. I've just got a little fire going in there at the moment....and I hope I'm doing things right. Maybe you can tell me? I've removed the grate and the ash pan, as I'll only be burning wood, but I've replaced the fancy thing at the front to stop any logs falling out. The fire I have going at the moment covers half of the stove floor and is about 6" high, made up of 'logs' no more than 1 1/2" in diameter. I've got the doors closed and the dampers open slightly, just enough to keep the flames going. The stove is getting warmer but not raging hot. I was going to increase the amount and size of logs slowly over the next couple of days. Is this the right thing to do? I'm so worried about it cracking!! :shock: What would Ihave to do to make it crack? I mean, is it easily done? Or would I have to build a bonfire in there and have it raging? Thanks for any advice. This is my very first stove and I don't mind admitting I'm a little scared

Jaqy

 

[Nemesis]

You should be fine - ours was cast iron and left in the hands of the installer (this was a previous house...) came home to find the thing full up, all air vents open, white hot...

Just small and slow should be fine - now go get a drink and celebrate! It's a wonderful moment!

 

[Tom]

Thanks, Nemesis I don't know what I'd do without people on here. It's so good to be able to get reassurance when you need it, from people you can trust. I really do appreciate it. Thank you so much

No wonder your stove cracked, though. Poor thing must have wondered what had hit it! :roll:

My celebratory drink will be on my own tonight, as Steve's away on business He did stay for the first lighting, though, so that was good It's a big mark on the diary though; a massive milestone. I keep popping in and out of the house to look at it I think my builder thinks I'm mad :lol: :lol:

Jaqy

 

[shelli]

not mad - attack of the smilies though !! :wink:

I'm very jealous - have to wait for flue liner before am allowed to light ours - took Nem's advise and put candles in inglenook - but not the same

shelli X

 

[Tom]

I read your plight Shelli and I can understand how frustrating it must be :?

Mind you, having mine up and running is worse than looking after a baby!! I can see it through the window, across the garden, and I keep looking out at it just to make sure it's ok! I'm having a bit of trouble regulating it, so it keeps almost dying. I obviously don't want it to rage away but trying to keep it on tickover is proving a bit of a juggling act! There are 6 dampers on it to juggle with, too! Four are on the front (two bottom, two top) and one in each side. I've got the side ones closed and all the front ones open just 2 turns. I *think* this is going to be about right....but I thought I'd got it right earlier, too :lol: Oh well, the joys of a stove, I guess

Jaqy

 

[Penners]

Jaqy - just to return to the subject of a cowl for a moment. I presume the chaps made the chimney watertight, but also left the flue liner open at the top?

In the short term I don't imagine this will be a problem, but are you really confident that it will only be short term? I'm probably tarring you unfairly with the Penners brush but I know that, for me, period property renovation tends to run on a rather elastic clock, and jobs that were planned to take weeks invariably end up taking many months.

My reason for mentioning this is that an open-topped flue liner can tend to exacerbate the problem of acid corrosion of the liner. A wet interior can cool the liner, increasing the condensation of corrosive tars, and the water can tend to spread the tars around. So if your liner is intended to last as long as possible, it would be advaisable to try and prevent rain ingress in some way. Even a cheap "Chinese hat" can be very effective.

Anyway, enjoy your woodburners! We wouldn't be without ours.

 

[Tom]

Hi Penners! Thanks for your post. Yes, the guys have made the chimney water-tight but the rigid flue is up in the air (see below).

The chimney will definitely be built next year, probably around May-time. All the stone is in the yard ready, so it's just a case of getting on with it. However, I'm concerned about your comments about acid erosion. Do you think even over-wintering could cause damage? If so, I'll get a cheapie cowl fitted pronto.

Here's a pic of my first little fire

 

[Flyfisher]

Rather than fit a cheap temporary cowl, why not decide what sort of cowl you'll want for the final installation and fit it now? It should be easy to remove and re-fit to the final installation.

Lovely fireplace.

 

[Penners]

Unless I'm much mistaken, those look like insulated flue liners, which is good news. But it also (presumably) means that you intend the liners to be permanent, with new sections added to extend them upwards when the new chimney is built.

That being the case, I would definitely fit rain cowls now. As Flyfisher says, they could be reused on the new extended flues next year.

The woodburner looks wonderful, especially underneath your lovely new bressumer.

 

[Micky]

Sorry ....help I can no longer see photos within posts....very frustrating should I re-check a box or something? I need a fix of pp p.rn!
Micky

 

[Tom]

Thank you Flyfisher and Penners for your replies and kind remarks

Yes, they are insulated flues and we do intend to extend them into the new stack next year. However, the final cowls will be 19th century terracotta / pot ones. I already have them. They'll be set quite well down within the stack and have about 6" only showing. This is the design we have come to with our local CO who, bless her heart, is working with us even though our house isn't listed and we're not in a Conservation Area Because of that I'll just chuck a couple of new cheapie cowls on for now. Thank you so much for your advice

Here's another picture of it showing more of its setting.

Jaqy

 

[Tom]

Micky, try going to User Control Panel, Board Preferences, Display Options. There's a yes / no thingy for displaying pictures. Hope this helps.

Jaqy

 

[Moo]

our house isn't listed

In which case, once you've finished the work, you should take steps towards getting it listed. It would be a tragedy if the next custodians were free to vandalise it after all you've done.

xx M

 

[Tom]

Yes, Moo, this is exactly what I intend to do, although Nemesis has pointed out before that it's not an easy thing to achieve. I've already mentioned to the council that I'd like to apply for it to be listed and I'm convinced they'd be 100% supportive. Ours is the oldest house around here and there's quite a lot of original fabric left to make it worthy of listing.....I hope!!

Jaqy