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

wrote:
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

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.

In article .com
wrote:
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?

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.

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

Hi,

Thanks for replying

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

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

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

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

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

Because the plaster is cracking off the wall.

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

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.