DIY Doctor UK DIY Forums

iam putting a wood burner in a newly opened fire place can i put plasterboard on skim the walls of the chimney??or can i use normal ceramic tiles ?? i want a smooth finish behind the burner and the same tiles below it ?? also can i use plasterboard to block off the chimney hole then put the flue through a hole i will cut in the plaster board?? any other tips would be welcome??

NO! You must put a gradulal slope from your flue out to the edges of the chimney. If you have a flat ledge you will get a build up of soot and combustion by products which in themselves can ignite and cause a chimney fire. I would buy of get made a steel throat plate and fire cement it into place then insulate it. Once done and sealed then hide everything with the plaster board. You say but is it a stove type wood burner? Remember reguler sweeping and check your chimney is gas tight, you don't want fumes leaking into the rest of the house. Block off the top of the chimney and also the bottom and put in some smoke pellets to see if the smoke leaks out into the house or attic. Scewfix sell the pellets. Nowadays it's normal to a liner into the chimney and that will come all the way down to your fire and conect onto the flue from the fire. Seal it from fume leaks as well.