Open Fire in an airtight house?

sas

Researching a new build at the moment and we're interested in getting as airtight structure as possible.

However, my wife and I love open fires. Granted its mostly for the weekends in winter but its still important for us.

There was a lively enough discussion recently on the pros and cons of chimneys in modern houses.

If you include a chimney in an airtight structure then it straight away becomes less airtight. Viking House made reference to valves available for chimneys so that they can at least be closed off when not in use. Sounds good so far.

There is another problem though. The chimney won't draw if there is insufficient draft. I've had big chimneys problems in the past in the current house with a chimney that was very poor to draw (before we discovered the builders had 80% filled the flue with mortar on a turn in the flue) so I'm not willing to take a risk.

What I'm wondering is if there is its an option to simply install a vent to the outside above the skirting near the fire that we could also close when the fire is not in use.

Thoughts?

SAS

kadman

I suppose you could do that. But there is also a vent you can fit into the fire ope, at the bottom , and instal a fan there, that gets air ducted from an outside vent.

I am trying to rack my brains for the website , if I remem ber I'll pm you

kadman

the_syco

A few old houses (hostels, etc) have a pipe running from the outside to right next to the fireplace. This provides the draught for the fire, but not for the room.

Maybe look into it.

C Fodder

Do some research on the Victorian designs for fireplaces which had a flue delivering outside air to the bottom of the fireplace. Some of the fireplaces of that era had a damper on this flue which you adjusted depending on how much fresh air you needed for the chimney.