5 worryingly common wood-burning stove installation mistakes

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At Gr8Fires.co.uk, we don’t perform stove installations. But given that we sell them, we keep our ear to the ground to keep up-to-date with what’s going on in the installation industry.

Unfortunately, that means we often get to hear of when things haven’t gone as well as anticipated. With that in mind, here are five common mistakes that are made when wood-burning stoves are being installed.

1. Chipboard being used as a register plate

The register plate is the panel that sites at the opening of the chimney. It seals the chimney to ensure that, in the event of a leak from the flue or if there is no flue liner, the gases that are released are unable to escape straight back into your living room. And it also serves to catch anything that falls down the chimney.

Register plates are most commonly made from steel. But, more often than you would like to think, we hear horror stories of cowboy installers using chipboard instead. This contravenes building regulations regarding the distance between the flue pipe and combustible materials. Even aside from the regulations, it is clearly very dangerous.

2. Upside down flue liners

Aside from the inherent awkwardness of feeding something from your roof to your living room, installing the flue line is actually fairly easy to do. The only complication is ensuring that you get the liner the right way up at the outset.

Most flue liner come with arrows printed every 1.5metres on their outside wall. Remember, these arrows should always point up the chimney.

3. Potentially fatal leaks

Poor connections at any point in your stove system can lead to leaks that might have deadly consequences. Carbon monoxide is among the gases that are likely to seep into your home in the eventuality that you suffer a leak.

The best ways to avoid such consequences are to use a reputable, HETAS-approved installer, and, as required by law, use a carbon monoxide alarm as a safety net.

4. Problems behind the stove

Building regulations are very clear that all stoves must be fitted at least 50mm from the wall behind, further if the material behind the stove is combustible. Dodgy installers will often cut corners to make sure the stove goes in as easily as possible.

Indeed, some even provide a supposedly neat finish by using potentially combustible boards on the inner walls of a fireplace.

5. Failure to meet building regulations

If you stove installation hasn’t been performed by a HETAS-approved installer, the work needs to be signed off by your local authority’s building control department. Many people using a non-HETAS installer either neglect to get the insulation signed off – which makes it illegal and has implications for insurance claims, among other things – or find, when the building control officer visits, that the installation doesn’t meet building regulations.

Read more about the Building Regulations relating to wood-burning stove installations.

2 thoughts on “5 worryingly common wood-burning stove installation mistakes

  1. I have had my liner installed 3 years ago , this last week I had it cleaned again by a Reg chimney sweep who after cleaning put a camera up. Near the bottom there are cracks and two meters from the top the liner has broken completely away . Obviously he condemned the fire . Should this lhappen after 3 years , first year I used seasoned wood with coal brickits, last year just coal .
    Thanks R Browning.

    • Hi Robert,

      It shouldn’t happen insomuch as you would expect the flue to last a lot longer than that. If the coal you mentioned is house coal, this has the potential to cause damage. Similarly, overfiring (operating the stove at too high a temperature) could cause damage.

      Thanks,

      Gr8Fires

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