Can I install a wood burning stove in a conservatory
Can I install a wood burning stove in a conservatory
5 mins

Can I install a wood burning stove in a conservatory?

Is a wood burning stove in a conservatory a good idea?

It can be a very good idea to fit a wood burning stove in a conservatory (or house extension). Log burners and conservatories are a perfect example of synergy in action, the combined result being greater than the sum of the individual parts. Conservatories are often chilly during winter (due to the amount of glass) and may be abandoned by families during the colder months. A wood burning stove converts a cold glass-box into a warm and relaxing space.

Using modern clip-together chimney materials the installation of a wood burning stove is often not as difficult or expensive as a householder might think.

The easiest place to site the stove is close to the main property so that the flue can be secured to the building and attain enough height so that the cowl gets to “free air” (usually above the guttering or soffit).

It might also be possible to site the logburner away from the house (deeper into the conservatory) but then a building regulation we call the “2.3 metre rule” starts to make live difficult (see video later in this article) and it is almost certain that the stove will then have to be at least 2.3m away from the main property. In this situation it may be difficult to support the chimney (minimum height 3 to 3.5 metres) with suitable bracketry.

Conservatories in particular, but also extensions can be very cold in the winter months and are often neglected for this reason. Add a wood stove and you have a snug space to relax (switch off the central heating in the rest of the house and save some cash and the planet)!

Stoves, unlike open fires are completely clean – in our own house we have a small wood burner in a snug with off-white walls and furniture with light sheepskin rugs on the floor.

What sort of price am I looking at for installation?

If doing it yourself then approx. £500-£1000 plus the cost of the stove.

If paying a registered installer then maybe £1,500-£2,000 plus the cost of the stove.


Do I need permission for a conservatory log burner?

Planning permission almost certainly no (unless in a conservation area or on the front of the property). You will however need Building Regulation Certification from the local council. See “legally can I fit my own stove?” unless you employ a HETAS registered fitter who can self certify. If your conservatory is not attached to your main dwelling then certification is likely not required.

If taking the DIY route you may find this useful: Installing a twin wall chimney


I am in a smoke control area. Is this a problem?

No. You will need a DEFRA smoke exempt stove if you wish to burn wood though. See “Smoke control areas and wood burning stoves”.


What size wood burner will I need?

Typically 5kW to 8kW but check out this article on “What size stove for my room?”

We stock many of the finest UK brands including DGSaltfireHobbit, HamletEkolAradaFlavel, Heta Island Pellet Stoves and more.

We test stoves, one stove a month and disregard any models found wanting.

Our top sellers 2022 are DG Ivar 5Hobbit, Saltfire Peanut BignutSaltfire Peanut 5FirewireFlavel ArundelHamlet Solution 5 WidescreenDG Ivar 8Saltfire ScoutWoodford LowrySaltfire Peanut 3Heta Inspire 45 and Ekol Applepie.


Who should I get to fit my stove?

You can do it yourself as long as you follow the procedures laid down by your local Building Control (at the time of writing you will likely not require and permission if in Scotland see “legally can I fit my own stove?”. Otherwise you can find and employ a registered HETAS installer who can self certify.

How do I seal where the flue passes through the roof?

If the roof is tiles, corrugated plastic/metal, plastic sheet then one uses a standard roof flashing that looks like one of these:

The top right EDPM flashing has a metal flange that can be bent to fit many different surfaces with the seal being created by the “rubber” material being tightly trapped between the flange and the roof surface. A Silicone sealant is also used between the roof and the flashing for “belt and braces” waterproofing. The screws are self tapping metal roofing-screws.

The EDPM flashing can also be used on flat plastic roofs and can be secured just with Silicon adhesive (no screws or bolts), the same as with a glass roof.

Flashings can be found here as can all Stovefitter's twin wall flue materials

But what if one is passing through glass? What do do then? Easiest method is to get your conservatory company to add a non-glass panel for you. Go talk to them.

In our top picture our customer actually had the glass installed with a neatly cut hole in the glass. He then used the EDPM flashing and secured it in place using Dow Corning 791 High Modulus Silicon (using a plywood template and weights to hold the flashing to the glass whilst the Silicone set hard).

Can I fit my stove anywhere in the conservatory?

Watch the chimney design video further up this page ;-)

Usually the easiest place to place the wood burning stove is close to the existing house as this provides a strong wall for the chimney to be attached to. The chimney will travel up the wall, out through the conservatory roof, and past any soffit or guttering to get to clean air.

How high above the soffit or guttering?

See Chimney regulations as this can be anywhere between 0.6m and 2m (even higher sometimes).

Placing the stove in other parts over conservatory can prove challenging for two reasons:

  1. The chimney will require some methods of support. With modern chimney materials one can get away with a minimum chimney height of about 3m or 3.5m in height (above the stove). This sort of length really does need some kind of support and attaching brackets to a conservatory is not always easy. It can be possible though.
  2. “Where the smoke exits” must be up past the guttering or soffit into clean air OR must be at least 2.3m away from the house.

So looking at 1 and 2 above, it is apparent that a stove will generally be against the wall of the house OR be at least 2.3m away from the property (which might be tricky).

FAQs

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Costs correct as of April 2023:

Approx. costs if you have a chimney and fireplace ready to use: £750-£1,000 (save £500 by self-installing).

Approx. costs if you have a chimney but need the fireplace "opening up": £1,600-£2,200 (save £1200 by self-installing).

Approx. costs if you do not have a chimney and need a clip-together flue: Shed £475-£700. Bungalow £1500. 2-storey house £2500. Save £1,000-£1400 by self-installing.

Above figures include labour and materials but no appliance.

We, of course, advise you to purchase your stove and materials from Stovefitter's to ensure quality goods are installed (some installers use budget materials to increase margin). If you buy your stove from us (rather than your local small shop or installer) we have a lot more power when approaching manufacturer's with a warranty issue. Why is that? Because we buy many hundreds of stoves a year from these brands.

We do not fit stoves.

But we know a few who do!

Google: Hetas installers

Hetas are the trade body of registered UK installers.

Most installations will require that you slide a chimney liner down your chimney (flexible metal tube 5" or 6" in diameter). Do you have a narrow chimney and want to lessen the risk that a liner might not go down your chimney? Then make sure your chosen stove can use a 5" liner.

Must I line my chimney? Best read this article but most likely the answer is yes. Do I have to fit a chimney liner?

DEFRA-Exempt wood burning stoves with a 5″ collar can usually be fitted to a five inch liner rather than the usual 6″ minimum, making the installer's job much less stressful.

ALL OF THE 5KW STOVES WE SELL CAN BE FITTED TO A 5" CHIMNEY LINER.

I seriously suggest any self installer fits a 5" liner unless they know their chimney is large enough for a 6"!

What is the best chimney liner? Silvacore 904 (we sell it so of course we will say that ;-). What is the best chimney liner?

Will your stove require an air vent within the room (some stone walls are very difficult to drill)?

5kW or under and wood burning stoves often do not require an air vent (new builds always require an air vent).

What is the maximum output in kW of your "5kW" wood burning stove? The majority of manufacturers just specify the “nominal output” and this figure means very little in real life. The nominal is a figure the manufacturer chooses to sell the stove at - the stove is capable of reaching at least this output with one fuel load. Nominal means "capable of". But it is not the maximum.

Check out the size of the area where the logs will go (firebox size) as this varies enormously. The kW output is completely dependant on the amount of logs burning at any one time - more logs burning equals more heat. If you can fit three logs in stove A and just two logs in stove B then stove A will be capable of throwing out 33% more heat.

DO NOT TRUST MANUFACTURERS’ kW RATINGS as manufacturers specify what output they desire to sell the stove at and testing allows for much “playing with the figures”. This is why you can get very small 5kW stoves (e.g. Aga Little Wenlock) and very large 5kW stoves (e.g. DG Ivar 5 by Dik Geurts which is actually rated 5kW but has a MUCH larger firebox than the Ekol Crystal 5 by Ekol Stoves). A Crystal 5k might get to 5kW and not be capable of any higher whilst a DG Ivar, despite being rated at 5kW, can get to 8kW with a full fuel load.

Note that, over time, one might damage the internal firebricks of a stove by running at a higher load than the manufacturer's suggest. Firebricks are easily replaceable.

Will your wood burning stove fit in your recess WITH the required air gaps around it? This is obviously not an issue if your stove will be freestanding.

Air gaps to non-combustible materials (brick, stone etc.) are usually "as close as you like" legally but manufacturers will sometimes specify a recommendation. This recommendation is there to allow heat to escape from the recess into the room - so you get the heat benefit rather than the heat soaking into the building structure and being lost. If no gap to non-combustibles recommended then we suggest 50-100mm air gap left and right of stove, 50mm behind and 100mm above.

Are you in a Smoke Control Area (usually built up areas)?

Choose your stove accordingly.

A stove must be DEFRA-Approved if you wish to burn wood in a smoke control area.

ALL OF THE STOVES WE SELL ARE DEFRA APPROVED FOR SMOKE CONTROL AREAS.

In simple terms if a stove has an efficiency rating of 70% then 30% of the heat from your logs goes up the chimney.

If a stove has an efficiency rating of 90% then only 10% goes up the chimney.

So think of this in terms of how many logs you have to chop/buy.

Example: A Saltfire Peanut 5 by Saltfire Stoves in Dorset has an efficiciency of 80%.

A tall chimney (6m or more) that is lined will be happy with an efficient stove.

Efficiency importance can be said to be overrated and anything between 75% and 85% is fine. Go much higher and performance can actually suffer (smoke in room when opening door to reload, blackening of glass).

Many modern stoves can go on 12mm thick hearths. Others require full, 5″ thick constructional hearths. All of the stoves we sell state whether or not a 12mm hearth is suitable.More about hearths for wood stoves here.

Can you can talk to somebody on the phone should you need to after the wood burning stove has been delivered, especially if you are self installing? Will the staff at “wesellzillionsofstoves.com” be able to assist with any installation issues? What if there are any problems after install?

Do yourself a favour before ordering stoves or materials on the Internet: Go to Trustpilot and type in the company name before you buy. Some companies advertising at the top of search engines are not good news - check for yourself.

When striving to find thebest 5kW wood burning stovesyou will likely be bewildered by the choice. There are many to choose from. The question I get asked most in our shop is “why should I pay <£1,000> for this one when this other one is just <£500>?”. Here is the very simple answer:the cheaper wood stoves are made in Chinaor Eastern Europe whilst the more expensive are made in Western Europe (or sometimes the USA). Here are a few examples where a more expensive stove might excel over a cheaper stove:

  • Aesthetics (more time spent on design)
  • Hinges (sometimes hidden on more expensive stoves)
  • Better quality glass
  • Thicker steel (longer life)
  • Improved door locking mechanisms
  • Longer warranty
  • Improved controllabilty of flame due to more resource invested on design of air flow within stove
  • Brushed steel fittings instead of cheapy chrome look

Open and close the door on a cheap Chinese stove. Then open and close the door on a DG stoveArada stovesWoodford stovesHamlet stoves or Saltfire stoves. You’ll understand the difference.

Stove pricing reminds me of wine pricing. A £20 bottle of wine is not double the quality of a £10 bottle of wine (the drinking experience might be improved by 20% as an example). We are talking “the law of diminishing returns here. They are all “fire in a metal box” at the end of the day.

Yes. However, there are specific regulations and restrictions in place to address air pollution concerns, particularly in areas designated as Smoke Control Areas. In these areas, only approved "smokeless" fuels or exempt appliances, such as Defra-approved wood-burning stoves, can be used. These stoves are designed to burn wood more efficiently and produce fewer emissions.

All the stoves we sell are DEFRA approved and Eco-design approved and suitable for all areas of the UK.

Terminology

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A stainless steel tube, slides down a brick/stone chimney to provide a smooth and safe route for smoke.

All of our stoves are approved by DEFRA to burn wood in all UK locations including Smoke Control Areas (towns and cities). Not all stoves are, so be careful if buying elsewhere.

All of our stoves are ECODESIGN approved to be sold in the UK. Not all stoves are, so be careful if buying elsewhere. ECODESIGN is mandatory by law since January 2022.

The base your stove sits on.

If the chimney is the polo mint then the flue is the hole.