Boards Index General discussion Off topic chat Why its a bad idea to remove chimneys from older home

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  • #1142030

    I was asked this question this morning.

    Most UK homes built before the 1980’s are double walled brick.  There a gap in-between both of a few inches.  Local councils decided to remove this gap with cavity wall insulation a few years back.

    The problem was….brick work on older houses is in a poor condition  and  filling inside the walls starts to transmit the moisture to the inner wall, causing damp & mould.

    Why cavity wall insulation can cause damp and mould

    And this is the same problem with blocking up chimneys and fire places.  

    There no issue with over boarding a fireplace and adding a vent, but back filling a chimney flue and removing the chimney pot will lead to problems in the long term.

    As a rule, there relined and capped off with a vent.

     

    Spending a little time and money doing this right can save money later on.  Damp & mould can cost thousand’s to sort out and find the cause was a lazy builder blocking up old chimney flues really frk you off.

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

    • This topic was modified 3 years, 2 months ago by  Mr Fishy.
    #1142033

     

    I think fishy has lost it.

    :wacko: :wacko:   :wacko:

    #1142034

    No mids shikh ask me about this earlier.

    #1142040

    soem older homes without double ‘leaf’ walls can even suffer badly if interior insulation is fitted to outer walls. creating problems . all properties that allow moisture or water  to penetrate or form on walls etc will create issues.  hence reason lofts are never sealed but insulated  allowing a free  flow of air .  check near edge of loft and u will find they do not cover right up to edges as that stops draughts ( airflow) that  remove moisture etc.  it always costs far more to put things right.  neighbour bought property and had mould in bedroom form behind headboard . turns out previous owner had had a chimney vent  blocked . an air vent was added to allow air flow and  mould problems evaporated :)

    :good:

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