carbs for arbs

Many thanks for the replies, much appreciated. Does that mean the un-weathered side will? I wish!!! Approaching 50... Good to hear a thumbs up for bitumen, as many seem to be suggesting more expensive alternatives. I think the problem is there is already rust creeping where previous holes are, as well as around edges. And I wondered if it would get worse exponentially once it takes hold. Looks wise I'm not too bothered and actually quite like the look of them as they are. But seeing as they are only temporarily fixed and the shelters need doing proper, whilst down I thought it made sense to give them the best possible chance of a longer life. But not doing anything would be the ideal IF painting made no difference. Happy to patch paint over both the screws and holes after fixing them down. Makes sense. Hammerite says it doesn't need an undercoat/primer? Also, Hammerite seems about x2 / x3 more expensive than bituminous. Do you think it is worth the extra outlay? Longer protection? Thank you, I'll take a look at those options. Do you think they are all better options than bituminous, and if so do you mind if I ask why? Another vote for cheap option, that's encouraging Thanks, that's good to look at things from another perspective. Tbh, I do prefer to reuse where possible. My time is free. And the equivalent sheets after a quick look seems to be coming in at around £25-£30 each before delivery. I'm estimating I'd need around 25, maybe a little more. So quite an outlay, but worth bearing in mind. Thanks for the tip. I've actually been really surprised (pleasantly) at how little water gets through them, even with existing holes and damage. The wood is staying very dry. Still, the drier the better so I'll see what I've got laying about and/or what I might be able to get my hands on. Cheers all

Hi I was donated some "corrugated iron" sheets and have been using them for a couple of years in a makeshift shanty town style array to cover firewood. I want to build proper wood shelters before winter and plan to make use of these sheets. But I'd like to clean them up and protect them as part of the project. It doesn't have to be amazing, the main objective is just to make sure they last as long as possible. I'm pretty sure the sheets are galvanised. There's some old black paint in them which has blistered, flaked and peeled in places. There's also remnants of an old orangey/rusty coloured paint on them which you might mistake for rust at first glance. That being said, there is some rust in places but they're not too bad overall. Bitumen paint seems a common choice. What do you guys think to that? Or are there better alternatives? Also, would I need to use a primer or anything else prior to painting? I've read about rust inhibitors, etch primer, and various other things, some of which people say you should use on galvanised, while others say not to. So feeling a bit confused and hoping you guys can put me on the right path. Many thanks PS - I will be fixing them down properly. Please ignore all the wood and rocks!

We don't have a chimney pot. The chimney was removed years ago, but the chimney breast remains in the loft. It was capped quite close to the rafters. I didn't go up and see it when they uncapped it to add the twin wall flue to get through the roof. Shame, would have been nice to see it. Cheers

Many thanks for the replies. The void wasn't filled with anything. Not sure why. Can't remember if it just wasn't discussed at the time or whether the fitter had reasons not to. I know access to the top of the opening in the loft is restricted, so that might have been a reason. Anyhow, it is what it is I guess, and I've no intention of adding it retrospectively as I'd have to undo much of the fitter's work. Thinking about it though, from what I remember the space around the flexi flue liner is not all that much at all. It's a narrow space. Perhaps that's why vermiculite wasn't used? Not sure... Cheers

Hi all I've got a wood burner installed in a builder's opening. Single wall flue into a flexible chimney liner. The thin steel closure plate is higher than the lintel in front - i.e. you can't see it when stood in front of the stove. I therefore often wonder how much heat gets "trapped" in that pocket of space behind the lintel, and subsequently escapes through the closure plate into the chimney void. So I've been thinking about insulating above the closure plate using mineral wool and wondered what people think to the idea? I've not come across much info of people doing that. Seems sensible to me but perhaps I'm overlooking something. I did mention it to the chimney sweep when he was last here and he was against the idea. Not sure how much I trusted his opinions though (on that and other things!). One of his concerns was the mineral wool combusting. I told him that in my limited knowledge it's not combustible but he wasn't having any of it! Any thoughts? Many thanks

Is this official - available to read on the internet - info/news? Or on the insider's grapevine?

Hi Sorry to return so soon with another wood stove question... This time it's about multi-fuel (MF) vs wood only (WO) stoves. From the reading I've done, there seems to be mixed opinions on whether a WO stove performs better than a MF stove, when burning wood only. Open Grate. One of our shortlist stoves is the ACR Earlswood III and Astwood II. Both are MF and have grates with permanently open slots. See: The stoves tick a lot of boxes for us, but the grate puts us off. The manufacturer has said that it won't affect performance, so long as there's a good bed of ashes. But logic and the opinions of some on the net would perhaps suggest otherwise. "Hybrid". I used the term "Hybrid" in the title to refer to stoves like the Clearviews and Woodwarm Fireviews (others too I'm sure), which have riddling grates which can be put into a closed position and provide a flat bed. But there's still gaps between the bars so it's not a truly solid bed. And whilst the primary air can be closed (at least I know it can on the Woodwarm), I'm not sure if that totally prevents air getting through. A Woodwarm Fireview Eco is a contender. Wood Only. Another contender is the Dik Geurts Ivar 5. True wood only burner with vermiculite bricks on the bottom. Any thoughts on the three types and how relevant or important the grate/base situation is for wood only, would be most appreciated. And just to add, I've read that a bonus of the MF and Hybrids is that the Primary Air coming in beneath the grate can be very helpful getting the fire going. Yet on the other hand, a WO without the grate and ashpan means a larger firebox. Over to you guys! Many thanks

Thanks for all the additional replies, much appreciated. I think once we've decided on our stove (new thread coming up to help with that), I'll speak to the manufacturers about distances to non-combustibles, risk of plaster cracking, minimum distances for good airflow, etc. And I'll discuss it with the installer as well. I'm hoping we won't have to do anything. But if we do I guess my favoured option would be to fix some thin fire rated board to the walls around the stove, and paint them in the same colour as the walls to help disguise them. If that's not sufficient, then perhaps remove the plaster in the necessary areas, get the walls back to brick/block, and then replaster with Vitcas type stuff *OR* use the thin fire rated board, fixed directly to the brick/block. Thanks again

Just thinking about other options... Aside from the heatshields you can get with some stoves, and the Vitcas type plaster you can apply to the walls instead of gypsum (as described above), is there any type of THIN fireboard which you can add to the plastered wall WITHOUT an airgap? Something I could then paint in to be the same colour as the rest of the room and therefore barely noticeable? If so, what's the thinnest available and does anyone have any info or links please? The only thing of this ilk I'm aware of requires an airgap between it and the wall, but hoping there's other options... Many thanks

Thank you both I will take another look. One installer said that they do not use it and would not recommend because it doesn't work and they have found it to fail just as much as standard plaster. So I'd ruled it out based on that. Just to be clear in case you missed it, this is a plastered brick or block wall, not plasterboard. Unless you were just adding the info about plasterboard, in which case ignore me!

Thanks for confirming @woody paul And thanks for the additional thoughts @Muddy42 .... - I'll check the swing of the door; hadn't thought of that, but suspect (hope!) it will be ok. - We've got a dog and will always have dogs. And we're quite outdoors-y / wellies-in-the-kitchen type people. So we'll try to consider any dirt and mess as "character" - Good points RE moving the stove in the future, and something we can discuss with the installer. The only thing about that is the hearth... It's already going to stick out more into the room than desirable, so we don't want it to be any/too much bigger than it has to be. In which case, that might prevent the stove from being movable in the future. But will definitely bear it in mind. Cheers

Thanks for the helpful replies and insights. @woody paul - that's encouraging to hear, especially as in your case it sounds like it is 100mm all the way around, not just from the back corners. And is that just standard gypsum plaster on brick / block? @GarethM - no, they specifically said from the back corners. So the red lines here: Many thanks

Hi all We're looking to have a wood stove installed. It will go into the corner of a room, at 45 degrees to the walls. Both walls are external, cavity, with plastered block / brick on the inside. One installer has said so long as the two back corners are 100mm minimum from the walls, there won't be a problem with blowing the plaster. But another has said it is best to follow the stove guidelines for distances to combustibles (even though the wall isn't combustible; but to prevent blowing) - which in our case would be 400mm. Quite a difference! Would anyone mind sharing your thoughts on which sounds most realistic? Many thanks

Hi Well, the tree came down back in March but has sat unused since then (on pallets, and poorly covered). I need to get it out of the way soon-ish though, so am back to thinking how best to put it to use. Any tips or techniques on how to allow for movement, shrinkage etc? That's interesting, I wouldn't have thought of that. So thank you for the advice. How best to strip the bark? If you don't mind me asking, what kinds of things do you use it for? Species... Rather stupidly I didn't take any photos specifically while the tree was standing, although I'm sure if I went through old photos I might find something. But I've taken some now which might help identify what type of larch it is? I'll post them below. I'll also have a google to see if I can work it out, if it's not obvious from the photos. Many thanks

I'm not massively familiar with stove installations. But presumably the flexi flue is sealed to rigid flue at the stove, and likewise somewhere near where it exits the roof. With a closure plate installed above the stove, and some kind of closure at the top where the flue exists (or where the cowl is if there's a chimney), and where/how is the cavity being ventilated? I can see that the innards of the flue are ventilated by being open both ends, but the rest of the chimney cavity? I do apologise if I'm missing something obvious!