www.ultimatehandyman.co.uk

I recently purchased a new build property with a 4kW Broseley stove connected to the existing clay chimney. After a short first burn ( short because the curing process kept setting off the smoke alarms), it would seem that the stove pipe has risen unevenly on the stove collar leaving an 18mm gap on the right, with a slightly smaller gap on the left. Large chunks of the fire cement around the pipe/collar have fallen out. The stove pipe goes through a metal register plate. A collar on the top of the pipe seems to be partly pushed through the hole on one side and not on the other. There is also a gap around the top of the visible stove pipe. During the short burn, I could also hear the occasional noise as pieces of debris fell on to the register plate.

The HETAS installer is coming tomorrow. I am hoping that he will appreciate that there is more to be done than simply replacing the fire cement. I would be grateful for any advice on the sort of things that I should expect him to be looking at.

Wow smoke alarms going off sounds very fishy this install; hope HETAS has sorted it, my neighbour had a stove installed and the steel liner smoked a bit but that was outside

Sorted, I am pleased to say. The installer returned; he took one look at the stove chimney and then he took it all apart. After about an hour, it was all back as it should be, and it seems to be working fine. Over a cup of tea, he admitted that he had been put under pressure by the Developer to install two stoves in a day, and a mate of his had installed mine. He did admit though that he had signed off on the installation. No harm done, and I am sure that the young installer is now a much wiser man.