QUICK GUIDE: INSTALLATION & MAINTENANCE

These days, fitting a stove is not usually a DIY job. If you do not use an installer registered with a selfcertification scheme (such as HETAS), then you have to notify building control, pay the inspection fee and carry out the work in accordance with the relevant Approved Documents. Flues now have to be lined so that there is a direct route from your stove to the open air, and no risk of fumes entering a building, so most of us prefer to leave it to the pros.

Day to day maintenance on stoves is limited to ash removal, though wood burners actually produce very little of this. Wood ash is rich in many micronutrients – especially potash, so it can be added directly to the garden or mixed in with the compost heap, giving you an extra benefit. Depending on frequency of use, a regular visit from the chimney sweep is a must. For lined flues especially, the job is quick and clean.