Chimney/ smoke issue in Sitting room

Lindi71

Hi I have an ongoing problem with my chimney. Not all the time but generally if I light the fire I have to keep my room door open as if I don’t After 20 mins my eyes start to burn and smell of smoke is bad. It’s a relatively new house (built in 2001) I have a professional chimney sweep clean the chimney he inserted a spinning cowl last year but the problem still is going on- at the end of my tether now because I can even enjoy having a fire on! Some days when no fire is on when I come down stairs I can smell smoke in the room and we may not have lit a fire for days!! Is there any thing we can do ?????
Thanks for any input
L

crock!

Leaveing door open would indicate ventilation is needed. (Vent).a smell even when fire not lite would make me think you have a down draught

Lindi71

crock! wrote: »

Leaveing door open would indicate ventilation is needed. (Vent).a smell even when fire not lite would make me think you have a down draught

Hi Crock,
Thanks! When you say vent do you mean the vent that’s in the corner of the room that’s always open? But it’s on the same wall as the fire would that make a difference?
Thanks
L

the_pen_turner

how high is the chimney in relation to the house and any thing rear by like trees or sheds etc.

crock!

If you have a vent there just make sure it is open and not blocked inside.a smell in the room when the fire is not lite could mean you have a down draught.if you hadn't a down draught then fumes would be pulled up.an other cause of a BAD smell could be a wet chimney which would cause a poor draw and a fumes smell.did your sweep also check the flue with a camera.

Lindi71

the_pen_turner wrote: »

how high is the chimney in relation to the house and any thing rear by like trees or sheds etc.

We’re a standard 2 storey house the fireplace on ground floor. I’m not sure how high chimney goes definitely more that 3 or 4 feet over roof?
Is that what you mean?
Thanks
L

Lindi71

crock! wrote: »

If you have a vent there just make sure it is open and not blocked inside.a smell in the room when the fire is not lite could mean you have a down draught.if you hadn't a down draught then fumes would be pulled up.an other cause of a BAD smell could be a wet chimney which would cause a poor draw and a fumes smell.did your sweep also check the flue with a camera.

I’ll check the vent is blockage Free.
I don’t think he used a camera but will check about doing that also.
You mentioned a wet camera. Sometimes ( not all the time) rain drops come down and land on the grate- not very often though?

Thanks again
L

Noel82

You'd want to get it sorted, depending on what you're using as fuel it could be dangerous.

Lindi71

Noel82 wrote: »

You'd want to get it sorted, depending on what you're using as fuel it could be dangerous.

Thanks Noel,
I will .....though thought the chimney sweeper would have been able to sort it. We rarely light a fire and burn mainly coal.
L

the_pen_turner

Lindi71 wrote: »

We’re a standard 2 storey house the fireplace on ground floor. I’m not sure how high chimney goes definitely more that 3 or 4 feet over roof?
Is that what you mean?
Thanks
L

that's what I meant. that the chimney is the highest point of the house and that there is nothing high around it like trees etc.

I'm going to guess that the cement cap on the chimney is cracked and letting in water. might not be but I have seen it before.

Lindi71

the_pen_turner wrote: »

that's what I meant. that the chimney is the highest point of the house and that there is nothing high around it like trees etc.

I'm going to guess that the cement cap on the chimney is cracked and letting in water. might not be but I have seen it before.

No there are no trees near us...... we’re on an acre with standard hedges not so high.... I’ll def check out the cement cap for sure... thanks for your help... though the problem is going on for as long as I remember and we built the house... we were never great for fires but as the years go on it just seems to get worse on the odd occasion we light them....
Thanks again for your opinion and help
L

the_pen_turner

it might be caused by the chimney being cold, if you only light it occasionally it will take a while to heat up and draw properly

Lindi71

the_pen_turner wrote: »

it might be caused by the chimney being cold, if you only light it occasionally it will take a while to heat up and draw properly

Thanks a mil,
I’ve a few things to look at now so hopefully one of them will do the trick.
The room is never Smokey really, just the smell.( and burning eyes😭😭.
L

Lindi71

Am loooking to put an insert stove in... wonder would it solve the problem at the same time?

Wearb

Make sure you have a Co alarm.

Lindi71

Wearb wrote: »

Make sure you have a Co alarm.

Hi thanks We do!
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