Can You Fit a Woodburning Stove If You Do Not Have a Chimney?

It is a problem that affects many households in the UK: they want the warmth, cosiness and efficiency of a woodburning stove but there is no chimney in their home. Is it still possible to install a stove?

The short answer is yes. Even if your property doesn’t currently have a chimney or traditional fire opening – a situation that is increasingly common in new build homes - that needn’t prevent you from fitting a wood-burning stove.

There are a few options available if you find yourself in this position. The easiest and cheapest option is to have an insulated steel flue fitted.

Fitting an insulated steel flue

Also referred to as a twin wall flue, an insulated steel flue is effectively a steel chimney that is added to your property. When your stove is fitted, the flue will usually pass almost immediately through an outdoor wall and continue up the outside of the building.

Alternatively, it might run inside the building and out through the roof. This avoids having the pipes outside your home but might cause inconvenience in the rooms the flue passes through.

The latter approach is particularly well suited to contemporary stoves that are intended to be freestanding features in a room rather than placed in a traditional fire opening.

What is a twin wall flue?

A twin wall flue is made of two stainless steel fluepipes (the twin walls from its name) with at least an inch of insulation between them. There are two main reasons for this considerable layer of insulation.

The first is to ensure the outer layer of the flue remains cool. If it is running the full height of your house – inside or outside – you don’t want anyone burning themselves on the pipe.

The second reason is to maintain the temperature within the inner flue. When flue gases cool they condense and can leave behind deposits of tar and creosote. The thick layer of insulation ensures that the flue gases stay at a high temperature and don’t condense until they are outside the pipe.

This reduces the risk of fire inside the flue and stops the corrosive effects of tar and creosote.

Build a chimney

An alternative to using a twin wall flue is to build a traditional chimney stack in your property. This is a more expensive approach, but you might consider the investment worthwhile in order to create an authentic fireplace.

For a two-storey property, you can expect to pay in the region of £2,000 for the chimney to be built. You will need to judge whether the space you might have to give up in your rooms in order to make room the chimney is worthwhile.

Also, remember that there are building regulations specifically relating to chimneys. We would recommend you use a HETAS approved chimney installer to ensure that the work is done properly first time, meets all the regulations and, most importantly, is safe for you and your family.

Ready to fit your stove?

If you’ve decided to get a stove fitted using an insulated steel flue, you will find everything you need in the twin wall kits section of our website.