findjammer

I think I'm going to chalk this up to experience and get the professionals in. Given that it has such varied potentials in legal terms and practical terms I think it's best left to the peeps that know.

Thanks everyone. Much food for thought. I must admit when the first guy said the back boiler needed to be capped as well as filled, that just didn't make any sense to me either. Think I'm going to park this particular project for now as I still have other priorities really. You're all pretty much echoing the chimney guy I spoke too. I don't need one that big and it's not efficient anyway. Ergo. Ditch it and start again. Thanks all!

Hi All, I recently bought a house that already had a woodburner installed. I've no idea how much the previous owners used it but I suspect not very much, if at all, as I had to get the glass replaced due to it being cracked and not really sealing properly as a result. Also the house didn't even have a hint of woodsmoke smell about it. Anyway, first thing I did was book a chimney sweep. He arrived and took a look at it and basically said he wouldn't do the job as it wasn't actually a safe/legal install. Turns out that the the woodburner used to be plumed in as the water boiler. That has all been replaced with gas central heating. I think at that point it largely became a feature rather than something functional. The issue is the back boiler on the woodburner hasn't been filled with sand and capped and poses a danger as a result. Also the backing boards used in the wood burner surround aren't up-to-spec. I've spoken to my brother about it (he was a British Gas engineer until 9 years ago) and said that the advice from the chimney guy about the back-boiler was right. I've also had another builder check the back boards and confirmed the same - not up to spec. Anyway, the chimney peeps did a quote for supply and fit to correct everything - £3500. Including a new smaller burner, chimney liner and the backing boards sorted. I didn't go ahead with that at the time as I had other things to do around the place with a higher priority. I've now caught up a bit and had a number of other conversations with various people and it seems I have two overall options. 1. Get everything replaced as the original sweep quoted on. 2. Deal with the back-boiler and get it signed off by someone (corgi gas qualified?) and replace the backing boards and use this burner (obviously after getting the chimney itself checked and swept). As I understand it, there is no legal requirement for a liner. That becomes a legal requirement when buying a new woodburner as it will almost certainly stipulate a liner in the installation instructions which then legally binds the installer and myself to ensuring it's installed as per the instructions. Any advice on this and potential ideas would be greatly appreciated. Best, James

I've just landed in the same place as the OP. New house with wood burner. On closer inspection it all needs ripping out and basically starting again. Annoying but hey ho, we live and learn. To the OP, I wouldn't try lighting your burner as others have said. It looks as bad as my "install" ...