wood burner

[philistine]

I am involved with a community allotment project and we want to expand our
winter time activities, to help us do this we want to install a woodburner
inside our large wooden shed I've been told I need a defra approved burner and a
Hetas approved installer, however the ones I've talked too so far are none too keen
Any one got any suggestions.

[rugbypost]

Look on ebay buy one and fit it yourselfsits not like gas you dont have to be registered i dont think ;)No there just maybe someone on site that will help you all

[Mr Smith]

           Unwashed is your man to answer this, I think he installed the same in his mansion of a shed,

[goodlife]

I've installed woodburner into my GH..it is not technically difficult..but you need to know all legalities of safety clearances from your burner..usually manufactures booklet has them..well mine did...and knowing how to cover all aspects of H&S, that is bit tricky..would your insurance agree with your self made job?
The floor underneath the burner has to be fireproofed..slabbed or metal sheeted..if it is wooden floor, slabs are the safest choice..and if its going to be tucked 'against' corner of the shed..the walls behind the burner needs fire/heat proof panels too...and the roof..where the chimney exits...same goes. Installing woodburner inside wooden structure has more obvious risks involved..and when it is for communal use..I would think carefully if self assembly is the right choice.
YES..On smoke free zones you need to have defra approved burner..there is big list of brands and their models listed on councils/government websites.
And having Heta approved installer goes 'hand in hand' with regulations too..
BUT  IT AIN'T CHEAP JOB...particularly when in recent year woodburners have become back in fashion..installers have raised their prices  A LOT!.. Friend  of ours wanted one in his house..and we recommended the company that did ours few years ago..but the price he was quoted was sky high... ..nothing like what we paid..

[grannyjanny]

Goodlife, you never cease to amaze . Is there anything you wouldn't turn your hand to?

[goodlife]

Oh..you make me blush..its more of the case of  OH not that talented with DIY of anykind and my purse is not that big that I can afford to pay for handyman for every 'little' job. So I either have to do it myself or not buy that many seeds..

[Unwashed]

           Unwashed is your man to answer this, I think he installed the same in his mansion of a shed,

  Thanks Mr Smith!


I'm not sure, but I think the situation is that if you install it yourself you don't have to be registered.  I have no idea what a Defra-registered stove would be.  I got my pot-belly off e-bay new for about £60.  The concrete hearth is cast directly onto the shed floor so it doesn't have a foundation as such but is just carrier by the wooden bearers, which is fine for the weight of the hearth and stove but for a brick chimbly it might have been better to have a strnger foundation.  The hearth is important because it needs to be think and wide enough to protect the wooden structure from heat and cinders, and though I didn't need to I followed the dimensions from the building regs.  The brick chimbly and pot are good fun and were free for me as I was given the pot and salavaged the bricks, but a better solution is probably a double-skinned stainless job - more efficient, and easier to seal against the weather - but it'll cost a couple of hundred quid.

[BarriedaleNick]

I love that Shed!

[goodlife]

I bet that shed is warm place when the stove is on.. ..have you got a armchair to go with it..
Looks great!

[Unwashed]

I bet that shed is warm place when the stove is on.. ..have you got a armchair to go with it..
Looks great!

I have to make do with a plastic deck chair, I don't think I could get an armchair in - I really should have built one in when I built the shed, it does need it.  Even with the cracks in the cadding for the wind to come in, it does get toasty warm.

[pumpkinlover]

We have two woodburners in the house, and a pot-bellied in the lottie shed.
Mr PKL installed them all- the shed is wood but there are metal plates all around, and it goes out preety quick.
We have been told by friends considering a wood burner how much it costs to have one put in now, glad we could do it ourselves

Wasn't nice when one dropped out the back of the landrover though - I thought Mr PKL was going to

Love your chimney Unwashed

[goodlife]

I've got old Victorian built brick out building in lottie..with fireplace and cast iron surrounding and proper chimney..
There is also baywindow and wood paneling on one wall..proper job..unfortunately I don't have armchair neither...but what there is..is wooden 'bench'..it could take single mattress.. So when we have selected 'words' situation going on ..I threathen my OH with move into more basic accommodation 
It is sooo nice to potter about on lottie in winter and every now and then nip inside on front of fire for little warm up...if I get anymore work done when I sit down... ..just staring into flames is like medicine for 'busy' brain..tranquilizer..

[lincsyokel2]

Yes the price of logs has rocketed since wood burners started getting popular.

The cheapest way to get logs is windfall and diseased trees. I filled up my wood shed in the summer becase a fungal disease swept through the country killling all the Eucalyptus tress that had been imorted and planted in the last 5 years. I took three diseased ones down, liberating about seven tonnes of logs. I coudl have had more, but the other two tress i was asked to bring down were HUGE, and far beyond what one man, two ladder and many blocks and tackles can solo. I also have in reserve a collosal oak trunk, laid in a field i have permission to take. its three feet in diameter and approx 12 feet long, so theres a good 3 tonnes of timber in it.

The two must have tools are a 16" petrol chainsaw and and log splitter of some sort. We just bought a 5 tonne hydraulic log splitter, runs off the petrol generator, saves no end of axe swinging and heart attacks, you can even train the grandkids to use it. There's also MoD land - most of it is totally neglected. There several large woods round air bases here, all very isolated, you can fell a tree, log it into three foot slabs and load it away without fear of disturbance. Ive had a couple of diseased  beech trees last year off MoD land (id never take down a healthy tree). Beech are good to log and split, the grain is tight and straight. If the germans had a word for it it would be 'Blitzprotokollierung'  (lightning logging)

[philistine]

Because the installation is in sheffield (a smoke free zone) and the allotment site
is near houses the hetas installer has told me I need a 5 metre flue for a start

[goodlife]

Hm...yes..you will need..all the approved burners are designed to be installed into houses...they won't draw the air in correct rate for smoke free burning if installed with shorter flue.
Cheap burners that you see in machine mart etc..sold for woodburning are ideal in shed sitiuation..but not 'approved'  ..they are 'workshop' heaters..
If you do decide to go 'cheaper' option and diy it..you NEED to burn dry/cured wood..so any smoke coming from chimney is barely visible...thus no complains.
Council checks any smoke with a coloured chart against sky..during day light hours..very scientific way.. ..and if they find any reason to enter premises because of the 'wrong' kind of smoke...you've had it if the burner is not correct...and will face a fine.
I know that some of our neighbours are still using open fireplace..but they are careful what they burn and when they light their fires..and they've never had any complains or visits from council recarding the smoke.

[lincsyokel2]

Hm...yes..you will need..all the approved burners are designed to be installed into houses...they won't draw the air in correct rate for smoke free burning if installed with shorter flue.
Cheap burners that you see in machine mart etc..sold for woodburning are ideal in shed sitiuation..but not 'approved'  ..they are 'workshop' heaters..
If you do decide to go 'cheaper' option and diy it..you NEED to burn dry/cured wood..so any smoke coming from chimney is barely visible...thus no complains.
Council checks any smoke with a coloured chart against sky..during day light hours..very scientific way.. ..and if they find any reason to enter premises because of the 'wrong' kind of smoke...you've had it if the burner is not correct...and will face a fine.
I know that some of our neighbours are still using open fireplace..but they are careful what they burn and when they light their fires..and they've never had any complains or visits from council recarding the smoke.

Theres one single smoke free zone in Lincolnshire, at North Hykeham. Otherwise you can burn what you like stopping short at copper cable and car tyres !!

There are some advantages to living in the back of beyond.

[Mr Smith]

Hm...yes..you will need..all the approved burners are designed to be installed into houses...they won't draw the air in correct rate for smoke free burning if installed with shorter flue.
Cheap burners that you see in machine mart etc..sold for woodburning are ideal in shed sitiuation..but not 'approved'  ..they are 'workshop' heaters..
If you do decide to go 'cheaper' option and diy it..you NEED to burn dry/cured wood..so any smoke coming from chimney is barely visible...thus no complains.
Council checks any smoke with a coloured chart against sky..during day light hours..very scientific way.. ..and if they find any reason to enter premises because of the 'wrong' kind of smoke...you've had it if the burner is not correct...and will face a fine.
I know that some of our neighbours are still using open fireplace..but they are careful what they burn and when they light their fires..and they've never had any complains or visits from council recarding the smoke.

Theres one single smoke free zone in Lincolnshire, at North Hykeham. Otherwise you can burn what you like stopping short at copper cable and car tyres !!

There are some advantages to living in the back of beyond.

Have they started to burn Stubble again in Yellowbelly land?,

[lincsyokel2]

Hm...yes..you will need..all the approved burners are designed to be installed into houses...they won't draw the air in correct rate for smoke free burning if installed with shorter flue.
Cheap burners that you see in machine mart etc..sold for woodburning are ideal in shed sitiuation..but not 'approved'  ..they are 'workshop' heaters..
If you do decide to go 'cheaper' option and diy it..you NEED to burn dry/cured wood..so any smoke coming from chimney is barely visible...thus no complains.
Council checks any smoke with a coloured chart against sky..during day light hours..very scientific way.. ..and if they find any reason to enter premises because of the 'wrong' kind of smoke...you've had it if the burner is not correct...and will face a fine.
I know that some of our neighbours are still using open fireplace..but they are careful what they burn and when they light their fires..and they've never had any complains or visits from council recarding the smoke.

Theres one single smoke free zone in Lincolnshire, at North Hykeham. Otherwise you can burn what you like stopping short at copper cable and car tyres !!

There are some advantages to living in the back of beyond.

Have they started to burn Stubble again in Yellowbelly land?,

nah, you cant burn stubble anymore, they stopped that about 20 years back, if you try many policemen and envormental bods descend on you pdq.

[Robert_Brenchley]

Trouble is, ploughing it in probably causes as many problems. Burning it messes up the atmosphere, but these days it's left to rot for ages on the surface. I'm sure I'm not the only one who's kicked a pile of decaying grass or straw, and found a great cloud of fungal spores rising. The spores are a major cause of asthma, and they fill the air at this time of year.

[pumpkinlover]

My woodburner it was a cheapy from Machine Mart- the chimney cost much more than the wood burner. It is very leaky and cannot be controlled well at all so if you get carried away on the plot it will have gone out, but really gets warm

I make sure it is hot so does not cause a nuisance. 



Shed with Sofa and  Tinkerbelle!

Goodlife I would love to see photo's of your shed. I had thought of starting a shed thread!