We're buying a place that is thatched. Rethatched soon as well :( but we've had conflicting advice - surveyor says put in a wood burning stove, less sparks & less fire risk. Builder says refurbish the fire, chimney runs cooler the way it was designed. What do the group think?
Andy
Not an either or situation. If you are using the existing chimney it will want looking at. Especially if you are fitting a woodburning stove, it will want a liner at least.
The problem with wood burning stoves is that the chimney can tar up and catch fire. You get lots of sparks and burning fragments comes out of the chimney, neither here nor there on a tiled roof but really dangerous with thatch especially in dry weather
ISTR you can get thatch materials treated with fire retardant. Yep, here it is.
Surveyor is a bit of an idiot but they often are.
Gas or heat pump is the safest option.
it will be pretty much uninsurable without.
thatched houses are a bugger to insure.
NFU mutual is the best bet.
I live in a highly thatched area and the head fireman is a sort of mate.
99% of the fires he sees are down to blown render between bricks in old chimneys. Few are down to sparks - cos that's a sign of a chimney fire and most people sweep.So id say got for an insulated liner and a stove. The liner will soot less anyway, and the chances of a flre with a sealed chimney that cannot get uncontrolled are lower.
If you keep the open fire, absolutely do smoke checks and in possible look up in the loft and check nothing combustible is touching it, and there is no smoke in there.
It is wise if you can to cover it in the loft area with a fireproof board like multiboard, all round - and trim back rafters that may be touching it before hand too.
Ideally you would strip back thatch around the stack and check pointing before rethatching. If you get it rethatched or re ridged do that as a matter of course.
You will probably be required to have smoke alarms in the house and in th loft for insurance purpose sand keep a large water fire extingsher regularly serviced near any open fires. DO this.
they send small children up them these days harry
of course you dont unless the chimney is actually on fire.
Much rarer with a a stove unless the doors are wide open.
No gas. Main boiler is oil, fire is for pretty :)
Ground-source pump, possibly helped out by solar panels on the garage I intend to build one day, is the long term plan - but there are more urgent things.
Andy
Thanks, that's the kind of data I need. Unfortunately the previous owners took the smoke hood off the fireplace to make room for their TV - and left it outside, where it's rusting nicely. So doing nothing is not an option.
Andy
Don't buy it in the first place.
There are clear rules about this. It can be done, but it may be expensive. Ask somebody local who knows the rules. Been there, done that, decided it was not worth the cost.
HomeOwnersHub website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.