Venting Chimneys

[aaront]

I have recently bought a 2 bed Victorian flat. There are 4 chimney breasts in it, one of them is in use in the living room. The other three have no ventilation - this is obviously a priority.

Since I am going to be replacing the floors anyway I thought I could dig out the hearth underneath the floor thus air can flow through the vents around the side of the property through the under floor space in through the chimney flue and vice versa.

Is this sufficient or do I need to install vents above floor level on the chimney breast?

Cheers in advance.

 

[jane_clem]

We have a victorian terrace where the 2 chimney breasts downstairs have been removed. As the chimneys weren't capped it has caused damp because the air cannot circulate properly and condenses.

We're in the process of sorting our floor out too, and had a builder round for various things - basically the upshot is we have to have an airbrick put in the wall where the chimney breasts are and the chimneys capped.

Without knowing the layout, but assuming its like ours (one above the other), I would have thought the one above the fireplace would be ok but the other 2 would have to be airbricked. And the chimney that isn't in use would probably need to be capped.

We've been quoted £720 but that includes a lot of plastering too.

HOpe this helps.

 

[aaront]

Thanks Jane. My situation is slightly complicated by the flat upstairs who would be responsible for half any costs and she appears to be skint.

I might end up capping the chimneys as well as venting them.