Druim nan Darach

Looks really nice, well worth the early planning. That timber is lovely, it's often easy to write off something that just needs a bit of TLC.

If it is anything like ours, when the stove is lit, the flue in the room above is barely warm to the touch and presents no hazard and no need to box it in.

Very nice build, I love the two tone between the larch and render - is the idea that the larch will go grey/silver as it ages?

 

When we were renovating our farmhouse I went to farm auctions to buy old bits of timber. Most of the lintels and beams we had to replace were all made from these salvaged bits picked up for a few quid. Go to a salvage yard and they wanted £100's?

 

Cheers,

 

MM

11 hours ago, mm289 said:

Very nice build, I love the two tone between the larch and render - is the idea that the larch will go grey/silver as it ages?

 

When we were renovating our farmhouse I went to farm auctions to buy old bits of timber. Most of the lintels and beams we had to replace were all made from these salvaged bits picked up for a few quid. Go to a salvage yard and they wanted £100's?

 

Cheers,

 

MM

 

Thanks, yes the plan is to allow the larch to sliver and then consider a treatment.

What @ProDave said...fire it up for three hours and see how hot the twin flue feels. 

My thermometer (on the bottom uninsulated flue) gets hottest (300*+) with dried kindling and a cool 200* with coal 

 

The upstairs middle section was originally going to be cupboard (flue to be exposed in the cupboard), toilet and wardrobe, but the triple velux view is to good so be wasted as a walkway so now we got to reconfigure the space. 

 

If it was just us I would leave it exposed, but with young children and this spot upstairs is going to be their living room , therefore we need the flue to be protected and consider practicality rather than aesthetics. I have visions of bits of lego going into the floor grill, finger prints on the flue and all sorts of potential accidents.

 

In our loft we had to box in a chimney and at the time it was like we gonna lose so much space, but we worked around it and it actually been great in dividing up the space, bit different here but we plan to put some furniture next to the boxing in and then keep the space flexible for future needs.

 

 

 

Go on, light the stove and measure the flue temperature.

 

Our flue goes up through my daughters bedroom, exposed.  With the stove burning it is pleasantly warm at floor level but not by any means "hot" and at ceiling level it is barely warm at all.

 

The manufacturers state it must remain 50mm from any combustible material. I think that is the manufacturers being over cautions, after all you could have a 20KW monster stove on the bottom burning full tilt 24/7.  With out little 4.5KW stove the flue really does not get hot and it does not bother me having it exposed in a child's bedroom.

 

Do the same rules apply for a WBS flue as a gas flue, i.e. all joints must be accessible for inspection?

12 minutes ago, ProDave said:

Go on, light the stove and measure the flue temperature.

 

Our flue goes up through my daughters bedroom, exposed.  With the stove burning it is pleasantly warm at floor level but not by any means "hot" and at ceiling level it is barely warm at all.

 

The manufacturers state it must remain 50mm from any combustible material. I think that is the manufacturers being over cautions, after all you could have a 20KW monster stove on the bottom burning full tilt 24/7.  With out little 4.5KW stove the flue really does not get hot and it does not bother me having it exposed in a child's bedroom.

 

Do the same rules apply for a WBS flue as a gas flue, i.e. all joints must be accessible for inspection?

 

I'm not really fused about the flue temperature, I agree it would not be hot.

 

Boxing the flue is more about protecting the flue from my kids.

Edited November 7, 2019 by Thedreamer

I always fancied an un insulated upstairs cast iron pipe with a Guard around it as a bedroom radiator.

If you get too much of a temperature drop up the flue, the smoke don't come out fast enough.

But at least you keep your mess private, rather than giving a little bit to everyone else.

1 hour ago, Thedreamer said:

 

I'm not really fused about the flue temperature, I agree it would not be hot.

 

Boxing the flue is more about protecting the flue from my kids.

Don’t forget if you box it in, you have to leave access to all the joints in the flue for periodic inspection. 

3 minutes ago, PeterW said:

Don’t forget if you box it in, you have to leave access to all the joints in the flue for periodic inspection. 

 

Yes considering this.

34 minutes ago, SteamyTea said:

If you get too much of a temperature drop up the flue, the smoke don't come out fast enough.

But at least you keep your mess private, rather than giving a little bit to everyone else.

 

I don't understand what you mean? Mess???

Wood burners emit many different pollutants.

19 minutes ago, SteamyTea said:

Wood burners emit many different pollutants.

 

I live in a remote area and manage an area of sustainable woodlands. The trees we fell and burn would over decades remove pollutants from the atmosphere. The wood is stored and seasoned and will be burnt in an a-grade efficient stove. 

 

We plant new trees throughout the year to replace the ones felled.

 

I agree that the use of wood burner in residential areas is a bad for the environment and the local population. But this is unique situation where the tree we grow and sustain have benefits to everybody and when the trees are cut often to encourage new growth, the timber produce is just a by-product. 

 

Can you name an alternative heating system for our house, that works on a fuel that actually benefits the environment during it's production, is sustainable, completely natural, simple, require no infrastructure, attractive when being produced and is free (apart from some sweat when cutting ?)?

 

A wood gasification burner maybe.

Or a windturbine.

Or invest in a solar farm as offset.

3 hours ago, ProDave said:

Go on, light the stove and measure the flue temperature.

 

Our flue goes up through my daughters bedroom, exposed.  With the stove burning it is pleasantly warm at floor level but not by any means "hot" and at ceiling level it is barely warm at all.

 

The manufacturers state it must remain 50mm from any combustible material. I think that is the manufacturers being over cautions, after all you could have a 20KW monster stove on the bottom burning full tilt 24/7. 

I was under the impression that the minimum distance to combustibles was mainly to deal with the risk of a chimney fire, at which point the flue would be a lot warmer.

6 minutes ago, SteamyTea said:

A wood gasification burner maybe.

Or a windturbine.

Or invest in a solar farm as offset.

 

A wood gasification burner, sounds complicated, expensive and I think we would struggle to get one that deals with the output required for the house.

 

Wind turbine - What would you prefer to look at in a national scenic area, some trees blowing in the wind or a turbine? Maintenance issues. Not an option here.

 

Solar - A few houses have panels here but they look a bit of an eyesore and not in keeping with the area. Expensive to install, better in sunny climates and not everybody cup of tea if considering resale.

 

You could export electricity to the grid for wind and solar for a financial incentive, use electricity in your home, but it's all dependent on the weather. Battery storage is a consideration, but nasty chemicals on disposal and the whole system becomes complicated.

 

A split seasoned log is like a natural battery of energy, it can be stored, managed and used when required. It regrows and can clean the environment and provide a home to natural wildlife for decades.

46 minutes ago, jamieled said:

I was under the impression that the minimum distance to combustibles was mainly to deal with the risk of a chimney fire, at which point the flue would be a lot warmer.

That would make sense.  It is certainly not in our case to stop the flue setting fire to the timber of the house under normal running.  And just to be clear I have complied with the >50mm to combustible material for the whole length of the flue.

Maybe a carefully designed cement board boxing in job?

in my hut the twin wall goes via a ceiling for four feet before exiting the roof. The roof space is dead and fully sealed so no storage or access. I made a cement board lined ‘tunnel’ that surrounds the twin wall. Was worried about any risk of fire what with kids and an all timber structure. 

Cement board is cheap and easily available so might be worth experimenting with?