This old open fire near Stamford was fitted many years ago and is now in need of replacement. Time for Fotheringhay Woodburners to get to work on removing it and installing a new steel closure plate ready for the new stainless steel chimney liner and stove to be fitted.

The old fire has been dismantled and removed. The chimney register plate is made from a high temperature board in two pieces with a central steel cover. As you can see the chimney above is quite wide at the bottom and a depth of at least 150mm (6 inches) of soot and debris has built up as it could not be cleaned properly.

Now we can see above the old chimney register plate it is apparent that the chimney has been lined with clay liners higher up but the lower six or seven metres are old open masonry. At the bottom it is around 900mm (3 feet) wide and only has one access door on the left side of the register plate for cleaning. The right hand side has therefore not been adequately cleaned for years and a potentially dangerous amount of soot and debris has built up. The plate will be removed and the chimney thoroughly cleaned before we install the new closure plate and chimney lining.

The chimney outside is in good condition as the top section has been rebuilt in the recent past. The cowl on top looks a little ugly and will be replaced with something less visually intrusive when the new chimney lining has been fitted.

The new stainless steel chimney lining has been fitted as has a new stainless steel birdguard cowl painted black to minimise the visual impact. The lining has been insulated in the top section to reduce the risk of tar and condensation forming from the cooling flue gases as they reach the top of the chimney.

The new efficient Franco-Belge Montfort multifuel stove and stainless steel chimney liner has now been fitted and the stove is ready to be handed over to our clients. It is lit and has been tested as part of our commissioning and handover process and the compliance paperwork is completed.