I've had a chimney breast removed on 2 floors of my house by a builder,
we've had to leave the chimney stack in place as it's a conservation area so
have supported the stack with RSJs. The builder hasn't patched up the
ceiling yet so when I look up I can see daylight through both chimney pots.
What is normal practice after removing chimney breasts, should I ask the
builder to put cowls on the chimney to stop the rain dropping in?

Mike

In article ,
"Mikey" writes:
I've had a chimney breast removed on 2 floors of my house by a builder,
we've had to leave the chimney stack in place as it's a conservation area so
have supported the stack with RSJs. The builder hasn't patched up the
ceiling yet so when I look up I can see daylight through both chimney pots.
What is normal practice after removing chimney breasts, should I ask the
builder to put cowls on the chimney to stop the rain dropping in?

That's probably a good idea as in this case it would directly wet the
ceiling. However, the flues _must_ remain vented top _and_ bottom,
which might mean fitting airbricks through the brickwork near the
top if he caps off the tops of the pots. (I did mine by cutting out
half a brick in the loft though to the flue.) If there's only a few
feet of flue left, then you can probably get away with ventilating
from just one end. Probably not relevant to you, but if possible,
avoid venting from a room, as it will draw heat out of the room in
winter (when doing heat-loss calculations, you should allow up to
a kW lost up a vented flue).

--
Andrew Gabriel

Andrew Gabriel wrote:
In article ,
"Mikey" writes:

I've had a chimney breast removed on 2 floors of my house by a builder,
we've had to leave the chimney stack in place as it's a conservation area so
have supported the stack with RSJs. The builder hasn't patched up the
ceiling yet so when I look up I can see daylight through both chimney pots.
What is normal practice after removing chimney breasts, should I ask the
builder to put cowls on the chimney to stop the rain dropping in?


That's probably a good idea as in this case it would directly wet the
ceiling. However, the flues _must_ remain vented top _and_ bottom,

In theory. In practice I think it's normal to shove rockwool up the flue
and seal the bottom

Stuart Noble Wrote:
Andrew Gabriel wrote:
In article ,
"Mikey" writes:

I've had a chimney breast removed on 2 floors of my house by a
builder,
we've had to leave the chimney stack in place as it's a conservation
area so
have supported the stack with RSJs. The builder hasn't patched up the
ceiling yet so when I look up I can see daylight through both chimney
pots.
What is normal practice after removing chimney breasts, should I ask
the
builder to put cowls on the chimney to stop the rain dropping in?


That's probably a good idea as in this case it would directly wet the
ceiling. However, the flues _must_ remain vented top _and_ bottom,

In theory. In practice I think it's normal to shove rockwool up the
flue
and seal the bottom

You can get terracota pots to sit in the top of the chimney pots that
will stop rain getting in but still vent the flue, they are like a
round "plug" with holes around the sides.
You should leave the bottom of the flue open.


--
Nick H

"Nick H" wrote in message
. ..

Stuart Noble Wrote:
Andrew Gabriel wrote:
In article ,
"Mikey" writes:

I've had a chimney breast removed on 2 floors of my house by a
builder,
we've had to leave the chimney stack in place as it's a conservation
area so
have supported the stack with RSJs. The builder hasn't patched up the
ceiling yet so when I look up I can see daylight through both chimney
pots.
What is normal practice after removing chimney breasts, should I ask
the
builder to put cowls on the chimney to stop the rain dropping in?


That's probably a good idea as in this case it would directly wet the
ceiling. However, the flues _must_ remain vented top _and_ bottom,

In theory. In practice I think it's normal to shove rockwool up the
flue
and seal the bottom

You can get terracota pots to sit in the top of the chimney pots that
will stop rain getting in but still vent the flue, they are like a
round "plug" with holes around the sides.
You should leave the bottom of the flue open.


Yes I've seen those pots and was thinking of getting some, but surely you
can't leave the bottom of the flue open, it's a bedroom ceiling! It would
make the room really cold and anyway wouldn't an air vent on a ceiling look
a bit daft? I've never seen a vent on a ceiling before!

Mikey wrote:
"Nick H" wrote in message
. ..

Stuart Noble Wrote:

Andrew Gabriel wrote:
In article ,
"Mikey" writes:

I've had a chimney breast removed on 2 floors of my house by a
builder,
we've had to leave the chimney stack in place as it's a conservation
area so
have supported the stack with RSJs. The builder hasn't patched up the
ceiling yet so when I look up I can see daylight through both chimney
pots.
What is normal practice after removing chimney breasts, should I ask
the
builder to put cowls on the chimney to stop the rain dropping in?


That's probably a good idea as in this case it would directly wet the
ceiling. However, the flues _must_ remain vented top _and_ bottom,

In theory. In practice I think it's normal to shove rockwool up the
flue
and seal the bottom

You can get terracota pots to sit in the top of the chimney pots that
will stop rain getting in but still vent the flue, they are like a
round "plug" with holes around the sides.
You should leave the bottom of the flue open.



Yes I've seen those pots and was thinking of getting some, but surely you
can't leave the bottom of the flue open, it's a bedroom ceiling! It would
make the room really cold and anyway wouldn't an air vent on a ceiling look
a bit daft? I've never seen a vent on a ceiling before!


You'd seal the bedroom ceiling and put the vent in the breast above the
ceiling i.e. take a brick out. Personally I wouldn't bother with the
vent, but I would put insulation up the flue for a foot or so to avoid
possible condensation problems