Removing the back boiler and installing our wood burning stove

[@GosforthHandyman]

Join the member zone for loads of extra vids and it helps support the channel directly: members.gosforthhandyman.com/ 👍😁

[@geoffmcmahon4453]

Was thinking of having one fitted but do you need a reg plate with a steel liner which is now the chimney

[@iant535]

Andy great install and you will love it - I watch ours more than the TV. I like you have an older house which I spent time to upgrade and seal up. You are only required external vents above a certain KW value. But the fire does need air and in our case the main air source was from the doorway across the room - this caused a draft along the floor area - so like you I have a suspended floor so I drilled holes through the floor just where your skirting boards are each side of the opening - the holes were close to the wall - I then routed out grooves in the rear of the skirting boards and placed them to the wall the air is then drawn from the ends of each board either side - hidden if I did not tell you it was there - this really helped. Re a fan if you place a metal sheet so it extends under the fire and projects just to the side you may find the fire heats this plate enough so you can stand a heat propelled fan on - I hope some of this makes sense? In any case there is nothing better that a day in the garden with chainsaws - log splitter and building and seasoning your wood 🔥

[@RideBikes_Walkplaces]

I did this job myself a few years ago and got it sgned off. It was a great experience! Only dodgy bit was on the roof putting the flu liner down as its not flexible! Best thing we've added to our home

[@trentflooring7438]

priced to be signed off?

[@NewWorldHoarder]

@@trentflooring7438rip off

[@keitho77]

I never saw a back boiler before. It's smaller than I thought. I was expecting some enormous tank. Good video. Looking forward to Part 2

[@GosforthHandyman]

Yup - tiny! Would get seriously hot though.

[@LabRat6619]

Usually about 3kw in hot water output.

[@richardphillips3303]

Watching this and recalling my experience, I could smell the unforgettable smell of a dug out fireplace! Another great video thanks 😊

[@GosforthHandyman]

Cheers!

[@vixh1555]

Great video. We're just doing up my fireplace and we've done all of the building work ourselves, which has saved me a fair bit of money 💰. Just have to wait for the stove and flue to be installed now.

[@robthewaywardwoodworker9956]

Looks like an incredibly efficient burn. Nicely done.

[@GosforthHandyman]

Cheers Rob! It's difficult to make a bad fire on this thing!

[@Doug....]

I had a stove fitted to my 50s bungalow 10 years ago when i moved in. Best thing i ever did to be honest especially in the current energy crisis.A trick i do is about 9.30 pm is to put a small container ( a decorators paint kettle to be exact) of smokeless coal on and turn the air up until it starts to glow. Then turn the air down low. When we go in the room in the morning it is toasty and keeps that way till early afternoon ( with lounge door shut) 👍👍

[@GosforthHandyman]

Nice! Ours is wood-only but good to know! 👍

[@Doug....]

@@GosforthHandyman Andy. We keep lounge door shut as much as poss during the day and light fire about 3.4 pm.( Hasten to add we only do this when the weather is really cold.

[@Flat-Five]

Perfect timing, we’re looking to get one installed and have just started to research the other day!

[@GosforthHandyman]

Great stuff - one of our best purchases!

[@MrAtheHun]

Thanks for another interesting video. Sadly HETAS, in my experience is just another of those ideas that should offer peace of mind and professionalism. In reality you get someone who’s been on a short course and passed a multi guess paper at the end. I used HETAS ‘professionals’ for my install. After their second attempt I suggested we get the building inspector and trading standards to have a look. Their immediate response was to return my £980. I then removed and refitted the fire myself. There are probably responsible HETAS operators out there, but how are you supposed to know which ones?

[@GosforthHandyman]

Cheers! Yup, I'm hearing this time and time again regarding HETAS. Bit worrying. 😬

[@ricos1497]

I like the sound of that multiple choice paper, I might give it a go. It'll qualify me to install fireplaces, and perhaps some light surgical procedures, is that correct?

[@johnholmes5674]

I DIY fitted my stove including the flu liner. HETAS??? 😂😂😂 About as much use as having a TV licence

[@alastairsummers8289]

Knowing I would likely be able to do a better job that many HETAS approved fitter's, this is exactly why I DIY fitted my flue liner and log burner completely a few months ago. I sought local authority building control sign off but was completely fobbed off. My missus was keen to have it signed off in some way, so I resigned myself to messaging HETAS fitters. Vast majority told me to take a hike, but thankfully one helpful gentleman did come and inspect my work. He ended up signing it off for a fee. He also told me he was being asked by HETAS to go and independently inspect another installers work, where the customer as very unhappy and had complained to HETAS... A prime example of why you are running a gauntlet when looking for an approved person to fit your stove!

[@24bellers20]

Same for me. Did my own. Not difficult if you are handy. Been in 15 years now and worked impeccably.

[@Tom-Lahaye]

That back boiler was a grenade waiting to be triggered. Cats love stoves, as I do, even when it's just 16°C in the room, as soon as the stove is going the radiant heat gives a comfortable feel to you. Also it does a much better job in getting the room up to temperature quickly when you run your central heating at relatively low boiler temperature to save on gas. Price wise you got a good deal I think for all that work done. I had to get my flue drilled to a larger diameter to accommodate for a 150mm liner, total 10 meters. My woodstove is also a Danish make, the Termatec TT20S, 5kW and it heats a living and kitchen totalling 45m² easy to 20°C above outdoors temperature if I want. Total cost for drilling, liner, inside flue and stove was in my case just under €3800, but didn't include the hearth, as a nice black stone one was already in place, drilling and lining was done in about half a day. I just had to re-plaster the small hole that was made in the chimney breast to pull the drill trough. Drilling and installing an outside air admission to the stove was done by myself, it further improves efficiency (no warm air from inside is taken by the fire) and is a must in air tight well insulated houses with balanced ventilation to avoid gasses being sucked into the room. Otherwise you need to have an open vent somewhere to level out pressures inside and outside the house and to provide fresh air for the fire.

[@salalul]

Been watching your videos last couple days absolutely amazed and what you’ve done. I have a 1930s semi detached in Wembley and would have to get a loan to fix it up. No idea where to even start! I am not a builder or handy person in any shape or form. Where do I begin!

[@withoutthinking3703]

Love it copper vessel imbedded in the wall for a few decades nice wood burner as well by the way

[@GosforthHandyman]

Cheers!

[@tomsimpson3322]

Not been a great year health wise for me Andy but your videos have helped me get thru it. Well done to you and Mrs Mac. All the best for 2023🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿👍🏻

[@johnough4893]

thru? I've marked you down for sloppy English.

[@tomsimpson3322]

@@johnough4893 seriously? Through and thru are both acceptable as this isn’t an essay. I’m sure Andy and Mrs Mac don’t mind which word I used in a genuine message wishing them all the best. Not sure why you would bother writing the reply you did. Seems bizarre and inappropriate to me🤔

[@johnough4893]

@@tomsimpson3322 Don't be stupid. "Thru" is an Americanism; and is used by people who are too lazy to take the time to realise what language is. Do yourself a favour and make the effort.

[@tomsimpson3322]

@@johnough4893 please just leave me alone

[@johnough4893]

@@tomsimpson3322 Fair enough.

[@1966babysnakes]

Look into getting an Eco Fan (Peltier Fan) to sit on the top of the stove, they are brilliant at distributing heat around the room.

[@GosforthHandyman]

They're great! Not enough room for one on our stove but we don't need any extra heat from it. 😁

[@TheSoupdragon1968]

@@GosforthHandyman look on eBay I had the same issue. I found one in the shape of a bi wing plane..... Looks great and works a treat... I shall get one for the other side ....

[@richardc1983]

Consider an ec ceiling fan we use ours in both directions and it helps push heat through the rest of the house.

[@bovnet]

Get a smoke machine to see the air flow from them. Absolute rubbish

[@TheDoosh79]

My Mum has one, she loves it and it is a nice enough thing to sit and watch but I can't say I'm impressed with its performance. I would say results vary massively depending on the quality of the stove. Some days it can take hours to get the flue up to a hot enough temperature to start pulling, when it is roaring away the room is toasty but the heat doesn't seem to travel much elsewhere even with doors open. She still seems to use the central heating and gas fire in the other room the same amount as before.

[@GosforthHandyman]

Interesting! Probably the stove. The newer Ecodesign ones are amazing. 👍

[@olliec1319]

Enjoyed this, I liked the relaxed feel of this video. It is possible to install your own stove and get it signed off by building control. I did mine. It's a fairly straightforward DIY job. The quotes in South East England for that kind of install come in a lot more than £850!

[@andywilkie1986]

Hey Ollie is it straight forward to find the regs mate to do it

[@bigdocus]

@@andywilkie1986 Yeah, google will find it pretty quickly. It's stuff like having a carbon monoxide alarm installed nearby. The heath needs to be a minimum depth, there needs to be min 300mm from the wood burner to the front of the hearth. Something like 600mm min from the wood burner to combustibles. That kind of stuff. I paid £100 + VAT for building control to sign off my work. But I added that to an existing extension. So would likely be more if it's a standalone job. But they will tell you.

[@excelsiorhome3266]

you can install your own stove (even used one) you just need building control to sign it off. You don't even need a steel register plate, two layers of plasterboard are more than enough - it is called a closing plate. A register plate is for stoves or fireplaces where you don't have a liner inside the chimney, that is why you need another door in the register plate for access to clean sooth. The HETAS installers normally install steel register plates anyway as they don't bother.

[@andyc972]

Looks great Andy, always a pleasure to watch you work, looked like you had another skip full out of that old fire surround, can't believe that back boiler was just left like that ! You're obviously in sync with Keith, I'll be interested to see what you find emissions wise too !

[@SimonJones_zx10]

Nice install. Picked up old 8kw villager for £250 got it looking new with new door ropes door pins glass seald good rub down and black stove polish. Knocked out fireplace insert then drilled 6inch hole into chimney just above fireplace put flu through that. gets to 35 deg plus in here done it all very cheaply £400 total in the end. is an old house too solid walls no insulation yet. DIY not that hard if your reasonanly handy. not got pipe down chimney yet but will do it next year. run fine how it is thats how they used to do it. it is even in manual for it. A friend did similar with his fine if you not planing of selling it with it installed in there too. YT vids like yours were a lot of help too before I started smashing fireplace out :)

[@barelyfree9427]

Never heard of HETAS before, and referring to heat level in Kws confused my American brain, but I got there eventually :D. We just got our install done of a big beast cast iron about 3 days ago. So far, at 5 degrees F outside, the stove alone in the basement is keeping the house at 65 degrees F, furnace hasn't had to kick in for days.

[@ianpearse4480]

Cool, or rather warm! Lol. Great project, interesting! I'm off to research a burner. Thanks.

[@richardc1983]

We had that exact stove after seeing it in one of your earlier videos. It ended up getting removed as the incessant clicking from the auto air control mechanism was too distracting. Ended up going for a clock burner and been really happy with it. A shame really as build quality was great, we loved the way the door worked which you slammed shut etc. Great big window but the noise was a problem. Also consider an ec motor ceiling fan (Costco) we use it in both directions when we get too hot with the wood burner on but it also helps push the heat out of the room into other rooms. We're burning oak this year with a combination of smokeless fuel.

[@GosforthHandyman]

I think you can lubricate it to stop the clicking btw. 👍

[@richardc1983]

@@GosforthHandyman I had Wiking out themselves, the stove was even changed but it made no difference. THey said it was meant to do it.

[@runamonk]

We just did literally the same thing. Funny enough the room looks the same basic layout os ours. They didn't add a ugly art deco surround in ours but did cement in a bunch of bricks and totally hide the decommissioned backboiler. The scary thing was there wasn't a proper lintel installed so I ended up having to replace several bricks and repoint a bunch of it and add new/old bricks to replace the ones that been broken to make room for the backboiler when it was done. We have a sweep coming in next week to handle the chimney that from the looks of it has never been cleaned. Then we still need the new flue installed and everything certified.

[@GosforthHandyman]

Nice one! The old lintel in ours was massive!!

[@highpath4776]

Sold one 1920s building , had a 1950s solid fuel burner in it, the buyers (2013) ripped it out + all chimneys and replaced with rads and boiler system

[@barthnortheast]

I need my mother's doing soon thanks for video

[@SteveAndAlexBuild]

Beautiful finished job 🤩🤩🧱👍🏽

[@GosforthHandyman]

Cheers Steve - they did canny! 👍😁

[@SteveAndAlexBuild]

@@GosforthHandyman . Better than the brickies on the studio 😬👌🏼👌🏼🧱👍🏽

[@ANDY-we7mr]

Great video thanks for sharing that very well explained thanks are you from Newcastle Gosforth 😀

[@stephendaniel168]

Nice stove. I love the building materials in that “crusty little house”.

[@GosforthHandyman]

Cheers!

[@fredsmith6725]

Thanks for yet another excellent video. I'm also blessed to have a woodburner and a free source of wood. Keith brown aka rag and bone brown has just done excellent video on woodburner and it's emissions. Unbiased and realistic. Well my worth checking out👀.

[@GosforthHandyman]

Cheers! Yup, chatting a bit more about Keith's vid next time. Great vid! 👍👍

[@raymondporter2094]

This is a really good video, so thanks! I have a query for you. I have an inset wood burner about 6 years old. I'm thinking about replacing it with a freestanding stove, partly to get a bigger fire window to watch the flames & partly to allow us to have a flat wall without fire stonework and plinths against that wall. There was once a 16inch open fire built into a "stone" opening with a lintel above & a wooden mantelpiece placed above that, AND an attached stone plinth where we put our TV on one side of the fire and a smaller plinth on the other. Together the fire surround and the 2 plinths on either side extend along the wall about 15 feet (the room is large - about 27 feet long). Apart from that stonework the chimney doesn't come INTO the room (which otherwise has a flat wall) but is built outside the house (the brick chimney juts OUT rather than in). The opening behind the inset stove (from your neck of the woods - a Cast Tec Arbeia Titus) and its surrounds is approx 760mm high and 760mm high, but I'm not sure how "deep" but it is certainly deep enough for the inset stove. M The question is whether I'd need a builder first to remove the old inset stove, maybe increase the size of the builder's opening and put a support above it to hold up the masonry and remove the "stonework" plinths etc and THEN getting a HETAS engineer around to instal the new wood burner and hearth and maybe a mantel-beam above on the outside of the fire opening. OR do HETAS people do all of it? (I hope that makes sense!)

[@holymoly6829]

I like the look of your front room The fire is marvellous Just seeing it makes you feel warm I used to go logging for my grandad He had a coal fire but supplemented the coal with logs in the very cold months of winter Always remember the smell 🤗🤗

[@normanboyes4983]

Really nice job, looks great.😀👍

[@crescentworks6855]

I really appreciate the shorter edit! Watching 2 videos at 15 to 20 minutes each is much more approachable than 1 video at 30-40 mins.

[@GosforthHandyman]

Ha, be prepared for the next one - it was a real struggle getting it down to 35 mins! 😂

[@stephenrobb3730]

If he reduced the content of his sweeping / tidying the videoes would be reduced by 30% and be a lot more friendly to watch

[@mikearthur2586]

My heart cried a little when I saw the fire place destroyed. Such a great piece of work gone forever. Maybe it's just me but that could have lived on another 100 years given the chance 😢.

[@mandyleeson1]

I love that the cats have a ‘sploot’ (sp?) by the fire, I’ve never heard that term before! Until recently, our wood burner was our only source of heating. We’ve had to come into the 21st century since we got solar and we’re trying to save the planet and some pennies, but you can’t beat a good wood burner. Looks great, Andy. Can’t believe it’s been two years already since you bought the place.

[@GosforthHandyman]

Apparently 'sploot' is a new word! Mrs Mac discovered it. 😁

[@davidravenhill300]

Ah I did a diy install last year, shoving the liner down the chimney was a nightmare. But I bought an ex display fire plus flu and other stuff for 900, a huge piece of slate for £100 and materials prob £30? I got a certificate from building control. Was quoted 4k for the same thing.. it’s def at the more extreme end of diy. Thanks for the videos 👍

[@nocode1603]

I was rewiring a house years ago it was a full renovation with a wood stove the plumber never put holes in back boiler to drain it the family had a fire on a cold Saturday night n just put the kids to bed thankfully,the pressure built up in the old back boiler n blown the side of the house out it was literally a bomb sight thankfully all were OK very lucky....

[@GosforthHandyman]

Yup, so dangerous to leave them with water in! 😬

[@basharatullah1425]

Back boiler is the best thing for emergency heating

[@Asma_2013Wolfss]

We fitted 2 in our home in Aberdeen , it heats the whole house and very cost effective , make sure you use kiln dried would for best results

[@GosforthHandyman]

Fantastic and defo on the well seasoned wood!

[@janstetka1]

First time it's cost you more for something than I paid ( I think)! Inclined to agree about the pollution in built up areas. When the neighbours have theirs going it comes in through our windows I've left open a crack for ventilation. I don't mind the smell but end up not using ours much.

[@GosforthHandyman]

They're amazing!

[@jimh4072]

I like the look of the stove. The large single piece of glass gives a great view of the fire and the modern styling is much better than the fussy Victorian type. 👍

[@GosforthHandyman]

Yeah, it's lovely to look at!

[@DeanJuvenal]

Agree. Far too many stoves look like they were used in Hammer House of Horrors films.

[@alangordon3283]

Brilliant . I took out my old fireplace when I bought the house I’m not seriously thinking on recommissioning it to a wood burner .

[@GosforthHandyman]

Defo worth considering!

[@awantamta]

It could be a very good alternative and a nice job by you and the tradespeople

[@GosforthHandyman]

Cheers Tahir! 👍👍

[@Billy_Bull_Sheeter]

What would you do with the gas pipe. If there was one. ?

[@Droningonuk]

They took their time on this one! 6 hour job that.

[@cb8491]

Howcome the chimney stack doesn't fall down before you put the new lintel in? I see lots of videos like this where they remove bricks to install the lintel but how does the chimney stack stay up in the time betweent the bricks are removed and the lintel is put in place?

[@strummer6642]

Google corbelling, also there is often a lintel higher up the chimney breast

[@cb8491]

@@strummer6642 cheers 👍

[@Stephanie-lg1cm]

What a great investment.

[@Recessio]

Sad that you couldn't keep the original art deco fireplace surround, but I know how hard it is working with concrete like that. Unfortunately ours didn't survive a renovation, cracked and fell to pieces

[@alanambrose2766]

Yeah you can do as a DIY install with a building control application. Also to those talking about air pollution, I have a good quality PM2.5 monitor and it barely registers.

[@bba48]

Are we still able to install wood burners in the UK? I realise theres some new rulings that were mentioned in the media

[@markmciver1981]

Hi Andy, stoves don’t *have* to be installed by a HETAS engineer… There are other certified installers you can use, or you can do a self-install and then have it inspected and signed off by your council building control inspector. But, as you said - Whilst you *could* DIY, I’d probably leave it to the professionals! Especially the ropey roof work! 😂

[@GosforthHandyman]

Cheers bud and good to know! 👍

[@banzaiman1]

Where do the water pipes go that are attached to the back boiler?

[@Gord]

Is the fire board in inglenook just dot and dabbed onto the brick work? Thanks

[@cgavin1]

That little fireplace tip was much the same as mine. However, my suspended floor was completely dry rotted and it collapsed and I fell down and hurt my head. Perfectly summed up my festering dungpile of a 1920's house also .. Edit: I installed my own liner and stove tbh. I got the liner on Gumtree for £50 and the stove was an old Morso squirrel I got for £300. Its been my #1 source of warmth for 4 years and I got to say the best ~£500 I ever spent. Its not that scary really.. We didn't drop the liner down, instead we attached rope to one end and pulled it up! Much easier.

[@GosforthHandyman]

Nice one - you're braver than me! 😂

[@cgavin1]

@@GosforthHandyman Oh I sent Uncle Pete up the scaffold hahah. My contribution was to "feed it through" from below! I can't go higher than 10ft. My entire central nervous system shuts down :P

[@adamconstable1377]

You have to be a little cautious doing bottom to top. The force of pulling the liner up can delamination layers of the liner. Do-able certainly, but hard to know if you've caused damage. Generally it's easier to let gravity do a bit of the work for you

[@andymccabe6712]

@@adamconstable1377 not sure why pushing/pulling UP is any different from pushing/pulling down! You're going through the same hole! And sod gravity!...it's safer to go up......!!!

[@adamconstable1377]

@@andymccabe6712 think of it like a tightly coiled spring, compressing it causes next to no deformation if at all. If you stretch it out however it can distort the shape. Liners are only fractions of a millimeter thick at the end of the day. As for the safety aspect, this is in the hands of the installer; a DIYer isn't usually as great on roofs as an installer does them everyday. To each their own

[@dougsaunders8109]

Two things Andy 1. I can’t believe how hard it was to see the builders opening. My 1930’s place was so much easier to see and smaller 2. How clean was the water that came out of the old back boiler? Not a sign of corrosion! Edit: Nice looking stove, I like the large glass, often better than TV

[@GosforthHandyman]

Cheers Doug! Yeah, was really surprised by how clean the water was in the back boiler. 40+ years!

[@stephenjeffrey3542]

Hi,, who fitted the stove, I’m in Newcastle and looking to have one fitted?

[@skybenedict]

HETAS is a competent person scheme. One can get approval from building controls without going through HETAS. Similar to installing windows via the diy route, getting approval from local building control without using a FENSA installer.

[@GosforthHandyman]

Cool - do they send a HETAS person to inspect it or just normal building regs inspection?

[@skybenedict]

@@GosforthHandyman building inspector from the council building control dept.

[@nutter-world]

Brilliant. That's going to pay for itself easily.

[@GosforthHandyman]

Think it already has! 😁

[@Bobrogers99]

I watch many videos of UK homes, and I've been surprised at the number of woodstoves that are installed and in use. I never thought that you had enough cordwood available for people to use their stoves regularly, and I therefore assumed that it would be very expensive. I live in a heavily forested state (New Hampshire), so heating primarily by wood here is less expensive than oil, gas or electricity. But in the UK?

[@GosforthHandyman]

Mainly as a backup heat source here in the UK. With the energy prices going through the roof here (now 10p/kWh for gas and 40p/kWh for electric) it certainly helps to bring the bills down! 👍

[@markdavies9236]

Hi mate did you check for asbestos

[@pedanticsmith5613]

I did most of the fireplace work when I installed my gas fire. If anyone wants to have a go, just be aware the HETAS inspector will want to see the fire board, well they did 10 years ago. I tiled mine, so I left a few tiles to finish off later. The fitter did the chimney and outside stuff (not for me either!).

[@GosforthHandyman]

Good to know!

[@markmiwurdz202]

@Gosforth Handyman. Top work as always sir. Looking forward to the next video. Do you think that your "Wiking" wood burning stove was named after a Norse warrior with a speech impediment.........mmm I'll get my coat. Stay safe, warm and well.

[@GosforthHandyman]

😂😂👍

[@MrDBSV8]

no you can knock out and build out the fire chamber but the connection must be made by a HETAS trained installer , normally thats running the flue liner , through the register plate and making the connection to the stove

[@darrenpaulgreen]

Hi Andy, lovely to see the progress on the build. When I had my stove installed in my old house, I prepared the builders opening as yourself. I looked into doing the work myself and getting a HETAS engineer to sign off, but no engineers in my area would touch it. I checking with Building Control, but in my area the6 insisted in a pre and post sign off and the cost of this was more than a HETAS install, go figure……😂

[@adamconstable1377]

Oddly enough, that was the same when I was in the industry. The pre/post sign off for Building Control was only a little less than our rates, and we did all the hard graft for the customer and disposed of the waste!

[@GosforthHandyman]

Yup, the building regs fees are getting prohibitive for a lot of smaller projects.

[@roberthardy2013]

It’s good to know also that under 5kw you do not need a separate air inlet, natural drafts are good enough. Love our stove, it’s very similar.

[@michaelgoulding6609]

that old back boiler looks as if its a copper one, (cos of the green on it), & you,d get a few quid at a scrap yard for it, early back boiler,s were quite thick copper, & later back boiler were made of steel.

[@willboa5365]

What about plate above plinth for access of chimney sweepers ?

[@MG63]

Our multifuel stove has access to the flue pipe from inside the stove itself. I just take out the baffle plate before the sweep arrives. If a stove has no direct access, there should be an opening built in to the flue pipe just above the stove. If there is no flue pipe in the chimney at all then there should be an opening built in to the closure/register plate above the stove. Hope that makes sense.

[@truth3358]

Great video

[@GosforthHandyman]

Cheers bud!

[@rbphilip]

Nice. I miss the woodstove in the house I sold. It was nowhere near as nice as that one, though!

[@GosforthHandyman]

Cheers Rob!

[@DeanJuvenal]

Eye protection when removing the old fireplace?

[@DeanJuvenal]

PS. Great to see high spec mask and eye protection now introduced.

[@DeanJuvenal]

PPS. It’s now been removed.

[@QWERTY7773]

A few quick questions 1) how does the cost of wood compare to say gas 2) Supply of wood is it easily sourced , cost , good regular supply and any chopping or cutting envolved 3)Does the chimney need sweeping regular 4 ) with this green agenda always changing (like when i was encouraged to by a diesel car by one Government an now there a big no no) 5) I would make sure i got some wax on that lovely leather couch ( or settee if yer a posh Geordie) because theheat it seems to belt out will dry the Leather out GREAT VIDS KEEP EM COMEING 😀👌

[@GosforthHandyman]

Answering most of these in the next vid, out very soon. 👍👍

[@QWERTY7773]

@@GosforthHandyman I know it was a long winded question an i didn't expect you to answer all the quetions straight away and look forward to your next post but couch or settee 😀 me an our lass are from the N East and she said couch like me The choice is yours 😀

[@macraghnaill3553]

Had my gas fire removed a few weeks ago and a 5kw multi fuel stove installed, today I lit the stove [temp 6c] at 11.30 am used around 1.5 kilo of coal, 2 hours later put another kilo on, 2 hours later 3.30pm put on another kilo, 7.10pm put on a small log and another about an hour later, doors to kitchen and hall open to let heat circulate around the house, living room 24 x 11.5 total cost for the day around £2.80 [coal 60p kilo and logs work out at around 35p kilo] logs are seasoned hard wood. cost if I had been using my gas fire half on for the same time period would of been £3.50 and not as warm, full on the gas fire would of cost £7.00 as not yet using heating, chimney should be swept at least once per year

[@QWERTY7773]

@@macraghnaill3553 what i don't get there isn't a abundance of fossil fuels or wood in the uk so what will you burn and with everything going green won't the polticians hit on you

[@macraghnaill3553]

@@QWERTY7773 I won't be around that long, there is an abundance of fossil fuel in the UK, it's just not being used. When I had my stove installed the HETAS man said that people are now ignoring the Smokeless law as they are burning what they can to stay warm, I don't live in a smokeless zone

[@richardleonard7910]

nice to see the copper back boiler not a common sight these days watch for the asbestos rope on the back of the fireplace between the fire place and fire back

[@GosforthHandyman]

Yup - interesting!

[@blankcanvas7417]

Can anyone advise on how I can remove a hearth that looks like that? Ours seems solid concrete with tiles. He seems to make it look so easy was that a pry bar? Do I need a chisel to remove tiles first? Any advice would be much appreciated

[@mmartin4978]

Do you need a party wall agreement for these types of installs?

[@theodavies8754]

Where's the soot box? If you install yourself use the rear port with a soot box, more efficient if the stove is a bit further out. A couple stove fans on top would be well worth it.

[@LostWhits]

What's the purpose of the back boiler? Never seen or heard of one before.

[@GosforthHandyman]

Was originally used for hot water many years ago. Also used to be used for central heating I think! (but not in this house)

[@jamierftighe]

I had an installer out today to price a job for me and I did ask him if you can do it yourself he said yes but you need building control to sign it off and they charge per visit (£350) my one is so if they come out 3/4 times you might as well pay a professional to do it in the first place

[@Bobrogers99]

Regulations in the US vary, but in my state many homeowners install woodstoves themselves, and if it's inspected at all, it may be done by the local fire chief at little or no cost.

[@GosforthHandyman]

Interesting!

[@johnfithian-franks8276]

You have a hearth mat, you just showed it (two cats) it is also self-cooling as the cats will soon move if they get too hot, although I have never seen my cat decide to move.

[@GosforthHandyman]

Ha, you're not wrong! The fire is like a cat magnet. 😂

[@DerekTJ]

Do you recommend external air feed if doable? I was reading that drafts can happen within the room to air feed the the stove.

[@GosforthHandyman]

I think it depends on the size of the stove - the installers said we didn't need one. We just open the window a crack if it feels stuffy. 👍

[@clarkeysam]

Hi Andy, would you recommend the stove installer? I'm 3 miles east of you and I'm currently researching stove installers, but not sure who to go with. Cheers.

[@nutter-world]

Holy hand grenade I thought that fireplace was going through the floor when you pulled it off the wall 🤣

[@GosforthHandyman]

Me too!! 😂

[@freetolook3727]

Does the stove have a blower fan?

[@GosforthHandyman]

Nope.

[@ADayWithoutYesterday]

I did a DIY install and the council then certified it. Did they fill the chimney with insulation around the flexible flue? Yours looks fantastic by the way.

[@GosforthHandyman]

Cheers! No, our flue isn't insulated. 👍

[@adamconstable1377]

Ex HETAS Engineer here. It was commonplace 10 years ago but the vermiculite chips used are probe to absorbing moisture and a nightmare to deal with after the fact!

[@ADayWithoutYesterday]

@@adamconstable1377 That's interesting. I used the jackets around my flue. I'll bear that in mind if I put in another one.

[@adamconstable1377]

@@ADayWithoutYesterday The fibreglass woven blankets are a much better solution than the old loose fill chippings. That being said ots like wrapping your car exhaust; doable but a bit overkill. If you're worried about flue temps then it's worth doing, but that liner is sitting inside a brick cover all of its own

[@3anksy]

1980s vintage water 👌🏻

[@GosforthHandyman]

Could have sold it!

[@freetolook3727]

What's the material surrounding the stove?

[@GosforthHandyman]

The fire board? www.vitcas.com/prd/cty/fireboards

[@michelles2299]

Good luck, I have a wood burner and it's really expensive now to buy wood it has gone up from £3.99 to £6.59 per bag in one year one bag is gone in 2 hours its now unaffordable to use every day in winter and I can only use it when the temp is 0 or less I don't have any central heating it's much more expensive than central heating and it only heats one room

[@gwenscoble6229]

I'm surprised they put a new lower lintel in. As I understand it, the hot flue is providing further heat in the room, so the longer the flue the more efficient the fire. A larger gap also gives space for the hot air fan and potentially a casserole. All those lovely northern dishes, Lancashire Hotpot, Scouse, Lob Scouse, Cawl and probably some from the North East too, were one pot, slow cooked over a fire😋. Thus 1 fire heats you inside and out!

[@TheZippyMark]

Might have just been aesthetics I guess, so that the surround is closer to the shape of the stove?

[@marria01]

We're redoing our living room and I've just cleared out our old gas fireplace back to a 'builders opening'. I'm still undecided over whether to get a woodburner or not. However, the plasterer is due this weekend to do all the other bits of the room, so in the meantime, I'm planning to just fit the fireboard/hardiebacker to the back and sides of the fireplace so he can then marry that up with the rest of the dot dab plasterboard that will be around the opening. But I'm still trying to figure out what I should be doing with the bit where the registration plate would go. Should I put a piece of fireboard there for now and let an installer cut a hole later? Or should I leave it completely open at the top and let them cut and fit the registration plate?

[@GosforthHandyman]

Ours butts up to a stop bead on the front plasterboard. So you could probably screw a piece of plasterboard in to stop draughts and then replace the whole lot with the register plate when you're ready? I'd just leave it to the installers. 👍

[@marria01]

@@GosforthHandyman sounds like a good idea. Thanks!

[@TheSoupdragon1968]

I had some stainless steel plate bent along the edges and fitted that. It lined the builders opening a treat and is very easy to keep clean...

[@brentfrench752]

I never heard of a back boiler, and don’t have a clue what’s used for, other to heat water for kitchen and bath, but the boiler looks like it didn’t hold enough water to heat a shower, or certainly a bathtub, so still confused of its use. Regardless, the firebox and wood heater looks great!

[@GosforthHandyman]

I think they heated water in a circuit and this was used to heat a hot water tank... I think!

[@Pinzpilot101]

This is why I love Poland...(eastern Poland). NO HETAS....yes Poland is an EU member but they totally ignore silly EU rules unless they suit them. Could buy the stuff and get local guys to install. My central heating runs on coal or wood...which is lucky because I own a wood...well a large copse really, so it's great for coppicing. It does have some very big trees in it.

[@peterlloyd5807]

Hi Stephen, those regulations are there for your protection. That capped off back boiler was a potential bomb, and something that wasn't mentioned here is that some fire hearths have gas pipes under the floor or or in the walls that used to service gas fires. These also should be removed to prevent an explosion.

[@nickharvey5149]

Is there any law that says you HAVE to have a HETAS cert?

[@MK-yo4jn]

That’s amazing, if you’re saying you wouldn’t do the install as a DIY job then enough said 😂. I remember you saying in a previous video the hearth was not “square”, any way you could have checked this before you paid the bill? We’ve booked an install in October for April because there is such a backlog 😏

[@BusinessButlers]

It is illegal without a Hetas installation and the Hetas company will give you a Building Control Certificate (BCC) . If you do not have a BCC, your Council can condemn the enitre installation and could even get an order to remove the fire until proper certification has been granted. So unless you have a BCC, you will forever be looking over your shoulder for a visit from a council environment dept who will know if you have a BCC since the Hetas company lodges a copy of the certificate with Planning as well as giving you a copy. Frankly, you seem to have got a great deal and the installation looks fantastic. Well done.

[@GosforthHandyman]

Cheers - really happy with it!

[@tonywatson1412]

sealing up an old back boiler. .happened a few years ago in england...smokeless fire ...glass front...exploded and killed the lady in the room....

[@GosforthHandyman]

Yup - so dangerous!

[@peterpopperry4408]

Why did you not fit a stanley boiler stove and heat the house.Your pipe work was already there,fit a new ciculation pump and the whole house is heated,plenty of wood around at recycling or indeed at the local wood wind falls etc.

[@GosforthHandyman]

Pipework was already there?? The house didn't have central heating before we bought it. 🤔

[@peterpopperry4408]

@@GosforthHandyman Did I see you cutting pipework out of the back boiler ?Or was I imagining things?

[@GosforthHandyman]

Was capped off in the loft - would have only been used for hot water, and no way you could risk using 80 year old pipes.

[@peterpopperry4408]

@@GosforthHandyman Thank you for letting me know best wishes, I have 2 stoves myself.

[@juliebrooke6099]

I thought you might have tried to remove the old fireplace intact. There’s bound to be someone looking for a simple,classic design like that.

[@GosforthHandyman]

It was probably moulded in place, so not a chance. 👍

[@strummer6642]

£850 for labour, down South at least 3/4 grand plus VAT, HETAS is a money earner. for sure

[@chrissavill8713]

You can install yourself and get a hetas registered chimney sweep to ok it. You have to know all the rules, regulations and distances before doing so. I did my own install from exactly the same start as you. My inglenook though is twice the size and it took an age getting the back boiler out and all the cement and odd thrown in brick, before it was finally revealed. Glad I did it though and it saved me hundreds of pounds by doing so. Would I recommend doing it on your own?..... Yes, but only if you are a very competent person, and you will some help.

[@0-Will-0]

The air quality topic is really divisive. You would probably get a lot of views with a video showing your experiences with a modern stove and a good pm monitor. I would recommend Airthings ones as you get good historical graphs and they can also measure for radon etc too. I know this was covered with another channel but the monitor they used was a cheap one and it would be interesting to see another persons experiences.

[@GosforthHandyman]

Yup, next vid - very interesting findings. My detector uses the PMS5003 sensor. 👍