Whether your stove is smoking into the room, you are weighing up a liner against a twin wall system, or you are a landlord trying to work out what paperwork you need, start here. Every guide finishes with the practical next step and a way to reach us.
Problems & Repairs
Why Does My Stove Smoke Into the Room?
Smoke spilling back into the room is a draw problem, not a stove fault. Work through the causes in order before assuming the appliance is at fault.
Read the guideBird's Nest in the Chimney: What to Do
Nests are the most sudden cause of a blocked flue. Timing matters legally, and prevention is cheap compared with removal.
Read the guideTar and Creosote Build-Up in Chimneys
Glazed tar is the most dangerous deposit in a flue and the most preventable. It comes from cool, smouldering fires and wet wood.
Read the guideWhy Your Stove Glass Keeps Going Black
Glass that blackens within a fire or two is telling you the burn is too cool or the airwash is not working.
Read the guideChimney Downdraught Problems Explained
If your chimney only misbehaves in certain winds, the problem is outside the house, not inside it.
Read the guideDamp Patches on a Chimney Breast
Chimney damp has three distinct causes and three different remedies. Treating the wrong one wastes money.
Read the guideWhy Does My Chimney Smell?
Chimney smells are diagnostic. The character of the smell and the weather it appears in narrow the cause down quickly.
Read the guideHow to Stop Birds Nesting in Your Chimney
Prevention is a cowl fitted before the nesting season. Removal is a legal question first and a practical one second.
Read the guideChimney Leaking When It Rains
Rain water entering a chimney is nearly always a terminal, flashing or pointing fault rather than a roof fault. Finding which one saves money.
Read the guideCrumbling Mortar on Your Chimney Stack
Eroded joints let water into the stack and eventually into the house. Judging severity early keeps it a pointing job rather than a rebuild.
Read the guideWhy Your Stove Keeps Going Out
A dying fire is nearly always air supply, fuel moisture or a cold flue. The order you check them in saves a lot of frustration.
Read the guideSoot Falling Down the Chimney
What lands in the grate tells you a lot. Fine soot, hard flakes, mortar and twigs each point at a different problem above.
Read the guideCracked Stove Glass: What to Do Next
Stove glass is a heat resistant ceramic panel, not toughened glass. Once cracked it stops being a safe barrier and needs replacing.
Read the guideStove Door Not Sealing Properly
A failed door rope is cheap to fix and expensive to ignore. It wastes fuel, tars the flue and can let gases into the room.
Read the guideSmoke Smell Upstairs When the Fire Is Lit
Smoke reaching an upstairs room means gases are leaving the flue somewhere they should not. It needs investigating rather than airing out.
Read the guideWarped Baffle Plate and Cracked Fire Bricks
Baffles and fire bricks are wear parts. When they fail the stove burns badly, wastes heat and puts the flue under strain.
Read the guideCosts & Process
What Happens During a Chimney Sweep Visit
A clear walkthrough of the visit from arrival to certificate, so you know exactly what you are paying for.
Read the guideHow Often Should a Chimney Be Swept?
Frequency is driven by fuel type and how hard you run the appliance, not by the calendar alone.
Read the guideThe Stove Installation Process, Step by Step
What actually happens between deciding you want a stove and lighting it for the first time.
Read the guideWhat a Full Stove Service Includes
Servicing is about the wearing parts. Here is the checklist and the signs that each item needs attention.
Read the guideChimney CCTV Surveys Explained
A camera turns guesswork into evidence — particularly before buying a house, lining a flue or spending on a repair.
Read the guideHow Much Does a Wood Burning Stove Cost, Supplied and Fitted?
The appliance is rarely the biggest number. Flue condition is what separates a modest job from an expensive one, and only a survey settles it.
Read the guideHow Much Does Chimney Sweeping Cost?
Sweeping is one of the cheapest things you will do to your home, and the price differences between sweeps usually reflect what is included rather than skill.
Read the guideStove Installation Cost, Including Flue Liner and HETAS
Compare quotes on scope, not on the bottom line. A cheap quote that omits lining or certification is not the same job.
Read the guideHow Long Does a Chimney Sweep Take?
A straightforward domestic sweep is a short appointment. What extends it is condition, access and the number of flues — not the sweeping itself.
Read the guideWhat Does a Chimney Sweep Do on a Solid Fuel Boiler?
A boiler appliance has heat exchanger passages as well as a flue. Both soot up, and only clearing one leaves you with half the job.
Read the guideWhat Drives the Cost of a Twin Wall Flue?
The appliance is rarely the variable. Route, height, roof construction and access are what separate one quote from another.
Read the guideWhat Should a Stove Installation Quote Include?
Two quotes for 'a stove fitted' can describe very different jobs. This is the line-by-line list to check before you compare them.
Read the guideLog Burner Installation, Start to Finish
The whole job in the order it actually happens, from the first look up the chimney to the certificate landing in your inbox.
Read the guideHow a Chimney Liner Is Actually Fitted
A walk through the liner job itself: sizing, grade, the drop, the backfill and the terminal.
Read the guideWhat Does It Cost to Line a Chimney?
The five things that move a liner price, and how to read one quote against another without guessing.
Read the guideComparisons & Choices
Wood Burning vs Multifuel Stove
The difference is mostly in the grate and the air supply, but it determines what you can burn for the life of the appliance.
Read the guideTwin Wall Flue vs Chimney Liner
If you have a chimney, you probably need a liner. If you do not, you need a twin wall system. The detail is in the exceptions.
Read the guideLined vs Unlined Chimney: Do You Need a Liner?
An unlined chimney is not automatically unsafe, but it is rarely the best flue for a modern stove.
Read the guideWhat Size Stove Do I Need?
Most people buy a stove that is too big. Oversizing causes smoky glass, tarred flues and rooms nobody can sit in.
Read the guideThe Best Wood to Burn in a Stove
Moisture content matters more than species. Below 20% and almost any hardwood performs; above it, nothing does.
Read the guideWet Wood Versus Seasoned Wood, and Why It Matters
Fuel moisture is the single biggest factor in how a stove performs and how quickly its flue deteriorates.
Read the guideDo I Need a Chimney Liner?
Lining is a survey decision based on flue size, soundness and construction, not a default upsell and not something to skip on price.
Read the guideWhich Chimney Cowl Do You Actually Need?
Five cowl types, the specific problem each one solves, and why fitting the wrong one makes things worse.
Read the guideProperty Types & Audiences
Landlord Guide: Chimney Sweeping and Stove Safety
For rented property, the certificate and the alarm are what matter. Both are easy to keep on top of with a scheduled visit.
Read the guideStove Safety for Holiday Lets
Guests are the variable you cannot control, so the equipment and the paperwork have to absorb it.
Read the guideCommercial Chimney Sweeping and Stove Servicing
A pub fire lit daily through winter is a different maintenance proposition from a family living room.
Read the guideCan You Install a Stove Without a Chimney?
Yes — a twin wall insulated system builds the chimney the property never had. The decisions are about route and appearance.
Read the guideChimney Care in Period and Older Properties
Old stacks were built for open fires and shared use. Both facts create issues that modern appliances expose.
Read the guideBuying a House With a Chimney or Stove
A standard survey will not tell you whether the flue works. Ask for the certificates and check before you commit.
Read the guideSafety & Compliance
Carbon Monoxide and Solid Fuel Safety
The alarm is not a formality. With solid fuel, it is the only warning you get.
Read the guideHETAS Certification Explained
HETAS registration is what allows an installation to be self-certified rather than needing separate approval — and it is the paperwork buyers ask for.
Read the guidePreparing Your Stove and Chimney for Winter
Everything worth doing in September takes an hour. Everything left until December takes a week and a waiting list.
Read the guideSigns Your Chimney Needs Sweeping
Some signs mean book a sweep soon. Others mean stop using the appliance today. Knowing which is which matters.
Read the guideSweeping Certificates and Why Insurers Ask for Them
The certificate is a dated, attributable record. Its value depends almost entirely on who issued it.
Read the guideBuilding Regulations for Wood Burning Stoves in Scotland
Scotland does not use the English self-certification route in the same way. Here is what the building standards ask for, and who signs the work off.
Read the guideDo I Need Planning Permission for a Log Burner?
For most houses, no. The exceptions are listed buildings, conservation areas and external flues on visible elevations — and none of that removes the building standards side.
Read the guideReady to Burn Rules: What Fuel Can You Legally Burn?
The Ready to Burn mark is about moisture and sulphur content. The legal force behind it varies by nation — but the physics of wet wood does not.
Read the guideDEFRA Exempt Stoves and Smoke Control Areas
Smoke control areas are declared by your council, not by central government. Whether you are in one decides which appliances and fuels are open to you.
Read the guideNo Certificate for Your Stove? Here Is What To Do
Certification records work done at the time; it is not something a third party can issue afterwards. But you can still establish and document that the installation is safe.
Read the guideWhat Your Stove Hearth Actually Has to Do
Hearths are the detail that quietly fails installations. Here is what they are for and how the two types differ.
Read the guideYour Carbon Monoxide Alarm Is Going Off Near the Stove
Treat every alarm as real. Get out and ventilate first, then find the fault before the appliance is used again.
Read the guideChimney Fire: What to Do Right Now and Afterwards
Call 999 first. Afterwards the flue must be inspected before any further use, because heat damage is not visible from the room.
Read the guide