Installing a wood burner chimney flue

[mrsmith]

Hello I am staying at my mothers at the moment and hope to fit her new villager flatmate stove. Never having fitted one before does anyone know the procedure
The chimney is very straight so I hope to put straight sections in .
Do I put the in from the ground upwards and join one at a time sealing each with fire cement untill it goes high enough or do I go from the roof downwards
Also when the pipe comes out of the existing chimney should you seal it so nothing can get down or is it better to leave a gap around it
The chimney has been used last winter for her log open hearth fire and will be swept in the next few days prior to me doing the work Thanks a lot

[Gyn_Paul]

[quote user="mrsmith"]Hello I am staying at my mothers at the moment and hope to fit her new villager flatmate stove. Never having fitted one before does anyone know the procedure

The chimney is very straight so I hope to put straight sections in .

Do I put the in from the ground upwards and join one at a time sealing each with fire cement untill it goes high enough or do I go from the roof downwards

Also when the pipe comes out of the existing chimney should you seal it so nothing can get down or is it better to leave a gap around it

The chimney has been used last winter for her log open hearth fire and will be swept in the next few days prior to me doing the work Thanks a lot[/quote]

I'm assuming if you build from the ground up you have room enough to do this inside the chimney? Or do you mean you'll attach one piece to the next then push it up and add another from the bottom?

I tend to connect the sections together with grub screws and then use fire-proof mastic to seal them, but that's only because I don't like fireclay cement: I find that because of the vastly different expansion rates of the metal and the cement it chips and flakes off.

Put a 'T' on the bottom to enable easy access for sweeping.

Assemble them counter-intuitively; i.e.the collar of the lower section fits outside the upper section. This is because if you do it the other way round then condensing tar runs down the inside of the pipe and leaks out of the next joint, and then continues to run down the outside of the pipe. At best, dripping into the fireplace, at worst catching fire.

When you get to the top you need to secure to in the centre of the chimney cavity. If the cavity is small enough you can use one of those brackets which looks like a London Tube logo. motaring the tails into the chimney top.

I would not recommend sealing the cavity as it needs ventilation.

Put a 'hat' on the pipework (it comes as a little flatpack which you assemble and attach with a jubilee clip) to keep the rain out and to help it drawing.

Many people use/leave in place the 2-part concrete caps on the chimney which work well for open fires. It does, at least, have the merit of keeping the rain out of the chimney cavity.

[mrsmith]

Wow thank you very much gyn_Paul that is exact advice I need, my friends and the local builder said use a long flexible  pipe but looking at all the creases in it I do not understand how anyone could sweep it well afterwards and my chimney is straight I just have to go and bug weldons again about the chimney sweep and order the parts  and back on the roof.

 I rebuilt the chimney last year which had blown down before we bought the house and put one of those concrete tops on so I can continue to use that  thanks a lot

[Gyn_Paul]

Builders will often recommend the flexible piping because - from their point of view - it's quicker to install and therefore cheaper for the client. Not an issue in your case, unless you've taken to charging family members by the hour!

And - you're right - I can't imagine it ever sweeping clean again either.

Just a though... when you rebuilt the chimney you didn't by any chance line it wth cement motar did you?

p

[Ernie]

"Assemble them counter-intuitively; i.e.the collar of the lower section fits outside the upper section. This is because if you do it the other way round then condensing tar runs down the inside of the pipe and leaks out of the next joint, and then continues to run down the outside of the pipe. At best, dripping into the fireplace, at worst catching fire."

 

Listen carefully to that Gyn geezer. Strange though it may seem, even the most experienced of stove-fitters and suppliers can make this error.

 

 

[Gyn_Paul]

[quote user="Ernie"]

"Assemble them counter-intuitively; i.e.the collar of the lower section fits outside the upper section. This is because if you do it the other way round then condensing tar runs down the inside of the pipe and leaks out of the next joint, and then continues to run down the outside of the pipe. At best, dripping into the fireplace, at worst catching fire."

 

Listen carefully to that Gyn geezer. Strange though it may seem, even the most experienced of stove-fitters and suppliers can make this error.

 

 

[/quote]

Actually, I'M the geezer: she's the gal !

paul