Chimney inspection

[Liszt]

Bit of background:
About to move into a rental property which is an old thatched cottage. There is a wood burning stove, but the landlord is not keen to allow its use as would affect the insurance premiums as don't know the state of the chimney.

Who would be the right person to asses the state of the chimney to provide a report for insurance company? Is a surveyor the right person?

TIA.

[Evo141n]

We have our chimney sweep inspect and supply documentation that the chimney is fit to be used. This is done on a yearly basis to prove to our home insurance company that all is fine.

[Jobbo]

My thatch is insured with NFU - they're fine about lighting fires provided you comply with their requirements (annual sweep, I think), though I have no idea whether they're happy to insure a rented property. Much cheaper buildings insurance than any other insurer though, so worth pointing out to the landlord.

You might need to pay to get the chimney swept before he'd consider allowing you to use the wood burner though.

[SplatSpeed]

stove should use a liner?

[crankedup]

Woodburning stove installed in a property with thatched roof = you must have the chimney flue lined to comply with requirements of insurers of thatched property.

[Liszt]

That's what I thought re: liner

So would a sweep be sufficient to assess the state of the chimney/ liner?

Would have thought that it would be a different professional

[crankedup]

Liszt said:

That's what I thought re: liner

So would a sweep be sufficient to assess the state of the chimney/ liner?

Would have thought that it would be a different professional

A pro' sweep is the best person to inspect and advise you on the condition of a flue. Just make sure he / she has the qualification and member of Guild and you'll be fine. They will look for soundness of the mortar joints between bricks 9bonding) and of course stability of the bricks themselves. If the bricks are crumbling then lumps will start to fall down the flue along with mortar. Its the hot gases that leak through mortar joints where the flue meets the base of the thatch is where main problems (fire in thatch) start. The heat builds up, possibly over number of weeks, and then thatch starts to smoulder. Smouldering could go on for days before its noticed and then as soon as conditions are right the fire starts proper. I live in a thatched home myself and I don't wan to scare you but this is how most thatch fires do start. The old brick flues were never built to withstand the very high tempreture of modern stoves.