I have recently purchased a property which is approximately 8 years old. The previous owner occupied from new. He installed a Brothers coal effect gas fire. Now, I don't know what specification the chimney is and I'm not a builder, so have no clue what kind of chimney is put into new properties, but I do know they are not normally suitable for real fires (which this obviously isn't).
Having used the gas fire for the first time today, for approximately three hours straight, I have noticed something worrying. On the 'chimney wall' (i.e. a wall in the room above the room within which the fire is located, where I assume the chimney runs along it) I discovered a hot spot. This is an area about 2ft x 2ft which was VERY hot to the touch. The wall around this area was normal (cold)... and then I discovered another area at the top of the same wall, near the ceiling, which was hot to the touch. Then I checked the same wall downstairs directly above the fireplace, and that too was hot, though not as bad as upstairs. Needless to say, I turned the fire off pronto. Surely this shouldn't be happening?
Can someone please tell me what the chimney spec is likely to be in a new build and what sort of fire is recommended for these chimneys? Also, whether this is something I can expect from normal use of (what I assume is) a correctly installed coal effect gas fire, or if this might actually indicate a problem with the construction of the chimney itself, or the fire? I am in the process of writing to the development co which built the property about this issue, and some information from people in-the-know re whether this is normal or not would be appreciated.
Thanks.