Changes to Bristish Standards?

[gazz1e]

Hi,

My house was built in the early 1980s. It was constructed with a flue which met the BS 1289:1975 - from my research this means the plaster can be directly attached to the flue. The standard was revised after my house constructed with BS 1289:1986 - which states that plaster cannot be directly attached to the flue.

A local tradesman recently installed a gas fire into my flue. Whenever I have the fire on for above 30 minutes, the plaster gets too warm and starts cracking. He claims he's not responsible as the flue did not comply with regulations. I claim that it does comply with regulations, and he should of been aware that houses constructed between 1975 and

1986 could have these difficulties.

Please can you confirm who's correct?

Thanks, Gareth

[Phil L]

1) Was there no fire connected to the flue before?

2) If there was (and it seems highly likely, considering it's a flue) why did the plaster not crack then?

3) How do you know the plaster is cracking after 30 mins?

And it's not up to the tradesman to put right your plaster, it's up to you to get it right so that the heat doesn't crack it up, try dry lining it with expanding foam behind the p-board for insulation.

[Rob Morley]

It's his job to make sure that the installation is done properly - ISTM that includes the suitability of the flue for the unit he's installed.

[dg]

What is different between the two flues from 1975 and 1986?

Could it be that the flue was found to be not performing with plaster, so the standard was subsequently changed but the flues remained the same?

Just because the flue [materials] met a standard, does not mean that the construction and subsequent plastering conformed too.

How do you know that the flue meets the relevent standards anyway?

I have never seen, nor known plaster on a flue block not to crack. They should always be boarded

dg

[gazz1e]

Hi,

Thanks for replying

No - it was an electric fire. The flue was boarded up behind the electric fire.

Maybe before the electric fire, the previous fire wasn't a "living flame" effect fire, and didn't send as much heat up the flue. I

Because the plaster is cracking off the wall.

Building regulations released on 1975 say it's okay to plaster directly onto the flue. They were revised in 1986 when "living flame" fire became popular - people where complaining about cracked plaster.

Anyway. according to trading standards, borough building department, and corgi technical help, the seller/fitter cannot be held responsible for mis selling the goods as he wasn't possible to determine if the plaster was stuck to the flue or not when surveying.

Balls.