DIY Chimney Pillow

karlitob

Hey all

Gonna get myself a chimney sheep x2.

This seems mad but wondering what your thoughts are. What problems do you foresee.

https://youtu.be/OlSKIeVbDaM

aFlabbyPanda

I did similar with our current house when we removed the fireplace. I just packed the chimney with rockwool and closed it off with some OSB cut to size.

listermint

Chimney balloons are a load of balls. A DIY one would even more balls.

And 2 of them branded ones. Kept going down had to blow up regularly.

Eventually just plugged the end and filled the chimneys with loose EPS balls to the top and threw a D cap on top.


Entirely reversible but completely draught proof.

karlitob

listermint wrote: »

Chimney balloons are a load of balls. A DIY one would even more balls.

And 2 of them branded ones. Kept going down had to blow up regularly.

Eventually just plugged the end and filled the chimneys with loose EPS balls to the top and threw a D cap on top.


Entirely reversible but completely draught proof.

Very good. Thanks for that. Did you notice a difference?

It’s a funny thing fireplaces. We’ve lit out maybe once a year for the past ten years yet still keep it and often talk about getting a stove. Mad really.

Presumably stoves are not worth the time effort or money anymore?

johnb25

karlitob wrote: »

Very good. Thanks for that. Did you notice a difference?

It’s a funny thing fireplaces. We’ve lit out maybe once a year for the past ten years yet still keep it and often talk about getting a stove. Mad really.

Presumably stoves are not worth the time effort or money anymore?

I think the stove makes the living / sitting room really cosy in winter.

dubstepper

It's over the top to call them a load of balls. If you can make a decent seal then it is worth doing.

Lumen

If you do block the chimney, you need to make sure you have sufficient ventilation from other means.

FWIW the best ventilated room in my house is a bedroom with no wall vents. There's just a vent into the chimney stack. The stack effect must do a great job at pulling stale air out.

Alun

I've had a branded chimney balloon in my chimney for at least 10 years now. It hasn't fallen out or anything and certainly isn't "balls".

dubstepper

karlitob wrote: »

Presumably stoves are not worth the time effort or money anymore?

We have a a stove in our sitting room and I love it. Used to have open fire. There is no comparison on heat. However, I think they might fall foul of regulations in the future. Certainly what you burn in them.

listermint

Alun wrote: »

I've had a branded chimney balloon in my chimney for at least 10 years now. It hasn't fallen out or anything and certainly isn't "balls".

Might come as a surprise to you.

There's zero hope that balloon is full of the same air ten years. Zero.

listermint

karlitob wrote: »

Very good. Thanks for that. Did you notice a difference?

It’s a funny thing fireplaces. We’ve lit out maybe once a year for the past ten years yet still keep it and often talk about getting a stove. Mad really.

Presumably stoves are not worth the time effort or money anymore?

Definitely noticed a massive difference. They just suck warm air out of a room. If you have ventilation get rid. We never lit ours once. It's just a big hole on your room causing draughts what's the point short of nostalgia.

Alun

listermint wrote: »

Might come as a surprise to you.

There's zero hope that balloon is full of the same air ten years. Zero.

Just checked it, still fully inflated and stuck in place. So unless the chimney balloon fairies have been topping it up unbeknownst to me, I'd say that it's still full of the same air I put in it when I installed it actually.

listermint

Alun wrote: »

Just checked it, still fully inflated and stuck in place. So unless the chimney balloon fairies have been topping it up unbeknownst to me, I'd say that it's still full of the same air I put in it when I installed it actually.

Ten years, il take your word for it. That's better than top of the range Michelin's.... All for such small money. Maybe they should speak to the balloon manufacturers.

karlitob

Thanks everyone. I spotted this on the building regs. I’m a little confused by what it says. I think it says - seal the flue at fireplace and the ceiling of the bedroom. It doesn’t say to fill with insulation (the balls as was recommended, which is a pretty good idea). But it says to put a vent into the flue in the roof space.

So how can you seal the flue above the ceiling of the bedroom.
For the flue and roof section, I presume a vent is just a few holes drilled into the flue.
Obviously this will make it too hard to reinstall a fire if we want.

So I guess what I’m asking is - does anyone foresee problems with condensation/ventilation etc with the ball filling suggestion.

Thanks all.

listermint

karlitob wrote: »

Thanks everyone. I spotted this on the building regs. I’m a little confused by what it says. I think it says - seal the flue at fireplace and the ceiling of the bedroom. It doesn’t say to fill with insulation (the balls as was recommended, which is a pretty good idea). But it says to put a vent into the flue in the roof space.

So how can you seal the flue above the ceiling of the bedroom.
For the flue and roof section, I presume a vent is just a few holes drilled into the flue.
Obviously this will make it too hard to reinstall a fire if we want.

So I guess what I’m asking is - does anyone foresee problems with condensation/ventilation etc with the ball filling suggestion.

Thanks all.

The advice there assumes bad or incomplete seals both or either end of the flue and to fool proof they the holes from attic space into the flue are a fail safe. In this the source of water would be rain outside or humid temps generated in the house going up poorly sealed flue.

With the EPS you are removing any airflow chance and creating a proper seal. This acts as the fail safe.

Discodog

dubstepper wrote: »

We have a a stove in our sitting room and I love it. Used to have open fire. There is no comparison on heat. However, I think they might fall foul of regulations in the future. Certainly what you burn in them.

I love my stove. I burn Ecobrite Smokeless & even though it's expensive to buy, it's great value.

karlitob

listermint wrote: »

The advice there assumes bad or incomplete seals both or either end of the flue and to fool proof they the holes from attic space into the flue are a fail safe. In this the source of water would be rain outside or humid temps generated in the house going up poorly sealed flue.

With the EPS you are removing any airflow chance and creating a proper seal. This acts as the fail safe.

Thanks listermint. One final question - sealing the bottom - is that a simple piece of plywood. When you say bad/incomplete seals - is it that the eps balls effectively make the seal. If that makes sense.

karlitob

dubstepper wrote: »

We have a a stove in our sitting room and I love it. Used to have open fire. There is no comparison on heat. However, I think they might fall foul of regulations in the future. Certainly what you burn in them.

Thanks for that. I’ve asked on another thread about this. The time, effort and cost to fix a stove - when I have other things to fix such as insulation - might not be the best use of money/time.
I need to check out new regs because by the time I get to install one - it could be really expensive to light a fire.

listermint

karlitob wrote: »

Thanks listermint. One final question - sealing the bottom - is that a simple piece of plywood. When you say bad/incomplete seals - is it that the eps balls effectively make the seal. If that makes sense.

All mine are plugged with an EPS cutoff literall a 200mm thick piece of rounded cut EPS from left over external insulation plugged up into the flue.

Then remainer filled from the roof with loose EPS like cavity fill without the glue additives. Think about how much air can get through 5 meters plus of EPS filled tube. There's your seal.

karlitob

listermint wrote: »

All mine are plugged with an EPS cutoff literall a 200mm thick piece of rounded cut EPS from left over external insulation plugged up into the flue.

Then remainer filled from the roof with loose EPS like cavity fill without the glue additives. Think about how much air can get through 5 meters plus of EPS filled tube. There's your seal.

Understood. I think that’s what I meant. Now to get up onto the roof!!
Many thanks.