Timber Frame, corner fireplace and smoke!

yop

Lads,
We have a TF house, the fireplace is in the corner and I notice that every time I close the door fully, that the fireplace starts puffing smoke, open a window very very slightly and it stops, open the door and it stops!!

Now there is no vent in the window or the room to the outside, so maybe this is the problem, also I wonder IF I installed a small vent above the architrave around the door to the hall would this cause a draft to solve the issue?

Mellor

Its definitly the lack of a vent that causes problems. ALL habitable rooms are required to have a vent, are they're any other rooms in your house like this??

Some rooms even with a standard room vent, need extra air when the fire is on. Thats why some fires have their own air supply.
A vent above the door should help, but it might be quite big.
Above thew archtrave is ok, and will probably ework, but a proper external wall vent is better, and the more correct thing to do. How old is the house?

Avns1s

The house really should have a vent on the external wall in all habitable rooms according to regs and certainly should have one in any room with a fireplace IMHO.

Nothing worse than having a room full of smoke after having the fire on. Used to happen us in our last house. If we went out and had the fire on, even a little fire and we would obviously close the internal doors, then we would come home to the smell of smoke in the SR. Made sure the current house has the vent and no problems with puffs of smoke coz the doors are closed a little quickly either. Hope this helps, though I think you know the answer to your own question from the tone of your post.

byte

I remember being in some houses in Scotland that had some sort of flap vent mechanism above the door. When door was opened you'd hear the flap swing open/closed. Not very common though over here it seems

I think the normal way to vent an open fireplace is to run a duct to the outside wall and fit a closeable vent cover next to the hearth, as you have a corner fireplace, is it on an external wall, if so it should be fairly easy to retrofit a vent duct.

hiscan

what about one of them things you put on top of the chimney to stop backdrafts that might help

Mellor

hiscan wrote:

what about one of them things you put on top of the chimney to stop backdrafts that might help

Would only help with drafting (if there is a problem), the room isn't recieving enough air changes per hour for the fire.

yop

Thanks lads, ya I sort of guessed the answer to that alright!!

My own fault really as I did the plaster boarding, nearly all the other rooms have vents in the windows, except for this one!!