Ablewight Chimney Services

Preparing for Your Chimney Liner Installation

So, when it comes to preparing for your chimney liner installation, where do you start?

Certified Chimney Sweep

First and foremost, with a certified chimney sweep. A chimney sweep can clean the flue for you, which is essential prior to having your liner installed. Why? Well, once your liner is installed, you won’t be able to access the flue again without removing the liner, which will hopefully be 2-3 decades away. The reason this could be an issue, is that if there’s any soot left in the flue prior to the liner installation, it will erode away at your chimney stack causing long term damage. For more information on acid erosion, please see our article here.

Your chimney sweep will also be able to point out any potential issues for your liner installation that you’ll need to take into consideration. A CCTV survey may be prudent to be carried out which the chimney sweep could also complete for you. If you have had a chimney fire then a CCTV survey is a must, as it enables inspection of the flue to identify the soundness of the structure. If you haven’t had a chimney fire then a CCTV survey isn’t essential but advisable.

The reason we recommend a CCTV survey is that you can provide the installer with the footage prior to them issuing a quote and request that they review the footage as part of their site survey. This will remove the majority of ambiguity and unknowns meaning your less likely to face hidden charges. It doesn’t eradicate all risk however.

If you’re within a 25 mile radius of Cambridge we’re more than happy to help, alternatively you can find certified sweeps that are members of the Guild of Master Chimney Sweeps here.

Non-HETAS Installer

There are installers out there who aren’t members of HETAS, we don’t recommend using them as they haven’t ‘proved’ their competence by passing training and examinations. However, if you are going to use a non-HETAS installer, you can organise for your your local Building Inspector to attend and sign off the installation. So at least you have the correct paperwork.

A point to be aware of however, is that the inspector typically assess the installation once it is finished, and so he is face with a scene similar to that in the photo:

Stove Installation

Why is this an issue? Well the Building Inspector can’t see what’s going on inside the chimney. He only carries out an external check. So he can’t confirm that the liner has been installed the correct way up, or confirm the quality of materials used etc..

This is why we’re not keen on recommending non-HETAS installers.

HETAS Installers

In our opinion, chimney liner installers should always be HETAS engineers. HETAS stands for Heating, Equipment Testing and Approval Scheme and getting a chimney liner installer that is a member of this scheme will ensure that your chimney liner installer is capable of giving you the best service available. That’s important. There are a number of ways in which a log burner installation and liner can go pear shaped, and it’s best to avoid such problems if you can.

Such problems include fire and fume risk to mention the most important, and your chimney liner installer needs to know just where and how these problems can arise.

Getting a qualified, HETAs registered engineer to do the work means that you bypass the second rate installations as HETAS engineers are required not only to demonstrate competence to a nationally recognised level, they are also required to update their knowledge base regularly so that they don’t get left behind while the world moves on and their knowledge is stranded in a professional backwater as it were.

For tips on how to pick the best HETAS engineer, click here.

So, between the Certified chimney sweep and the HETAS engineer as your chimney liner installer, you will have given yourself the best odds of getting a really good job done.

Return to Blog Home Page

For further advice or assistance, contact our team today

01223 964 305

bookings@ablewightchimneyservices.co.uk

Share on LinkedIn