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Help with fireplaces and flues for new builds and extensions
Fireplace & Chimney Installations For New Builds & Extensions Discussed by Turner Baker
For those of you building a new house or an extension, it is a really exciting time. You have bought the plot, agreed the design with the architect and the builders are on site.
You have requested that a fireplace and a chimney be included in the design for your lovely new home. But wait, the plans show a fireplace and a chimney but give no idea of the sizes required or the specifications of the flue. Also, building regulations insist that a new flue must be lined. So who can provide the information required – is it the architect? Or is it left to the builder?
The answer is that all too often it is left to the builder and unfortunately it is not always done correctly. It is also quite standard practice for builders to line the chimney with clay liners and then for the homeowner to install a wood burning stove with a stainless steel liner – effectively paying for two liners, which is expensive and unnecessary.
The most important thing for you, as the owner of the new property or extension is to decide what you want to have in the fireplace of the room. Open fire? Gas fire? Wood burning stove?
Making the decision at the build stage will allow for the correct specification of the fireplace (particularly important for an open fire) and the flue liner. It will also allow for the airflow into the room to be designed and incorporated at the build stage so that the fire works well when it is lit.
Remember the fire triangle from school – you need fuel, oxygen and heat for a fire to work. For a well insulated and well sealed new build property you will have to provide an air vent somewhere in the room for an open fire and somewhere in the fireplace for a stove.
There are now some easy to install solutions that are ideal for the new build property or extension. Turner Baker recommend a pumice chimney lining system which is lightweight, easy to install and versatile which can be used internally or externally.
Pumice is a great natural insulator. Flues made from pumice warm up quickly and take longer to cool down – which means that your fire will work far more efficiently.
For open fires Turner Baker recommends the Isokern firechest and DM Double Module Chimney System. The benefits of this system are:
- The system is lightweight and easy to install.
- The Firechests are supplied as flat packs and can be used to create fire openings up to 1.2m wide
- The Isokern flue liners comes in a range of over 18 different sizes – which makes it very flexible to use.
- You can have the correct size specified by a professional and the whole system can then be installed by your builder
For wood burning stoves in a new build property or extension, Turner Baker recommends using the DM Double Module Chimney System.
The benefi
ts of this system are:
- Quick and easy to assemble
- The outer and inner blocks are laid at the same time but with staggered joints for safety and stability. The double layer of pumice blocks separated by an air gap maximises the chimney insulation.
- You can have the correct size specified by a professional and the whole system can then be installed by your builder
Contact Our Fireplace & Chimney Installation Specialists Today
It is expensive, time consuming and messy to try and put right a fireplace or flue that has been incorrectly specified once building work has finished. Using the recommendations of a chimney expert will make this part of the process much easier.
If you would like more information on Isokern chimney liners, or advice on a fireplace or flue for a new build or extension project please contact us on 01432 839123.
Alternatively; please contact by calling any of our regional branches:
New Build Fireplace & Chimney Installation Cheltenham: 01242 649660
New Build Fireplace & Chimney Installation Shrewsbury: 01743 343544
New Build Fireplace & Chimney Installation Worcester: 01905 611663
New Build Fireplace & Chimney Installation Hereford: 01432 839123
New Build Fireplace & Chimney Installation Oxford: 01865 236763
New Build Fireplace & Chimney Installation Bristol: 0117 336 0470
New Build Fireplace & Chimney Installation Cardiff: 02921 151303
New Build Fireplace & Chimney Installation Leamington Spa: 01926 257404