Installing a woodburner in summer

Summer might not be the time of year when you’re most pining for a wood-burning stove in your home, but it is a good time of year to think about buying and installing one.

Installing a woodburner in summer is actually quite a sensible option. For starters, it means your stove will already be there when you need it instead of reacting to a problem when it arises.

Planning ahead

Of course, only reacting to a problem when it arises is human nature, so stove installers are far busier during the cooler weather. If you can have the foresight to arrange your installation before the temperatures start to drop, you will have a wider choice of competent installers (before all the best ones get booked up weeks in advance).

Bargain hunting

Not all stove installers will be willing to discount their services – particularly when they are in such high demand – but those that will are more likely to do so in the summer months when jobs are a bit thinner on the ground. By installing a woodburner in summer, you are giving yourself the best possible opportunity of bagging a bargain.

Muddy feet

On a more practical level, there are also advantages to avoiding the worst of the weather when planning your woodburner installation. At its most basic level, this means your stove installer isn’t having to walk through mud, puddles and mushy, fallen leaves each time they go in and out of your home. Although the British summer might not always help you out in this regard, generally speaking your carpet will be safer if you choose to install in summer. Installing a woodburner in summer also minimises the risk of your installation being postponed due to particularly treacherous conditions: there is less chance of a icy roof tiles and high winds in the summer months.

Unexpected use

As we’ve mentioned in this blog post, another advantage of installing a woodburner in summer is that you might get some unexpected use from it. Sometimes it can get a bit chilly of an evening and occasionally we get some unseasonable weather in June, July and August, so a woodburner can be a useful thing to have at your disposal.

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Installing a log burner

Are you thinking of installing a log burner in your home? Let’s look at what that will entail.

Who should do the installation?

At its most basic level, log burner installation involves putting the appliance in place, putting a flue pipe in place, putting a flue liner down the chimney and connecting all the components. The work itself isn’t complicated, but the complicating factors are:

you will need to get up on your roof to install the flue liner
you will want to get every aspect of the installation correct due to the dangerous gases involved
if you do the installation yourself, you will need to get building control to approve the installation.

You can circumvent all three of those concerns by using a log burner installer who belong to a competent person scheme.

How much does installing a log burner cost?

That’s a tricky one to answer. It depends on whether you have a chimney, what building work (if any) is required, what type and length of flue pipe and liner is required. This spreadsheet helps to calculate the cost of installing a log burner.

Of course, installing your own stove is very cheap but will raise some of the issues mentioned above, included the costs accrued when dealing with building control at your local authority.

Do I need a flue liner?

If you have an existing chimney, you might not need to line it when installing a log burner. Keep in mind that there are performance benefits relating to the draw of your log burner that are achieved by installing a flue liner. If you are happy to go ahead without lining the chimney, you will need to check for any leaks. Find out more about that here.

What do I need for a flue installation?
In most cases, installing a flue or flue liner is a key part of installing a log burner. You need connections to your log burner, a twin wall flue or flexi flue liner and the fixtures and fittings where the flue exits your property. Find out more in this article.

What are the legal requirements?

A key consideration when installing a log burner is compliance with Document J of the Building Regulations. This relates to things such as distance to combustible materials, positioning of your flue terminal and size and thickness of your hearth. All those things and more are covered in this article.

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