Are you thinking of installing a wood burner?

CAN I INSTALL ONE IN MY FIREPLACE?

Yes, but you need to know that a woodburning stove needs a narrower flue than an open fire so you can’t just rip out the fireplace, stick in a stove and point it up the chimney. You will have to install the right sized flue.

WHAT IF I DON’T HAVE A CHIMNEY?

Any member of a Competent Persons Scheme (someone who is officially registered to carry out this type of work) which is what you will need for all of this work, will advise you on this. You will have to have a chimney flue that goes up the exterior of the house and it will need to be insulated.

CAN I INSTALL IT MYSELF?

Given the number of regulations I think it would be unwise. You need to have the installation signed off and certified. It needs to be tested and you must have a carbon monoxide alarm in the room and there are rules about how close it should be to the stove. You must also install a vent as well. It’s safer, and easier, to go with a HETAS registered engineer.

WHAT SIZE DO I NEED?

Your engineer should be able to help you with this but if you want a rough idea then it’s length x width x height/14 = the output in kilowatts. All measurements should be in metres and if there are lots of doors and windows then it should be slightly higher.

HOW OFTEN SHOULD I SWEEP THE CHIMNEY?

Once a year unless it is the main source of heating in the home in which case it would be better to do it twice.

Hopefully that has cleared up any questions. Now the next trick is how to light the thing. Because there’s a bit of a knack to it and I shall be writing about that in my next post as well as the design of our fireplace.