Insulating a fireplace hole - urgent !!

[User112]

FIL has randomly decided last week to get rid of the fireplace in their house!! . It was an electric fireplace that fitted into a hole in the wall. He removed it all, put it up on frecycle and someone collected it today just as DH arrived at their house. The hole is now drawing in cold air and the house is freezing!

we have some Mdf in the loft. DH will cut it up and seal the hole. Is there anything we can safely put in as insulation? We have some silver foil flooring underlay and an old duvet. Is it a good idea to shove the Duvet in there and paste the underlay on the mdf (inside) and seal it? Or do we need something else to seal/insulate it?

I would recommend asking Piglet John on here . Gives very good advice .

Bumping

Is there a chimney? We bought an inflatable “balloon” to stop the draught off Amazon.

I was also going to say chimney balloon

I bought one of these and it’s perfect

www.chimneysheep.co.uk

For a short term measure I used to put a cushion or pillow in a plastic bag and shove that up the chimney to block the draft.

Balled up newspaper to stop up the chimney hole temporarily, then inflatable chimney balloon.
I suppose FIL has thought of a replacement solution including a board to cover the fireplace which will be sealed with silicone or putty.
I made a stencilled wooden “fire screen” and used newspaper to temporarily block my chimney/fireplace from June to October.

My chimneys are blocked with pillows inside thick bin bags.

I’ve used pillows in previous houses before, then mdf and silicon to seal off

I second the chimney sheep , was actually recommended by octopus energy , it stops draughts , noises a bit , and is breathable unlike most of the balloons and home diy methods so you won’t end up with damp up the chimney in the long run . If you measure up properly it’s really simple to fit and the company are very helpful too.

He didn’t think about anything!! Just got rid of it ! Now MIL is calling every hour complaining about how cold their living room is. DH needs to sort something out today.

If ILs don’t want a chimney drawing all the heat out of the room, then a wood burner or pellet stove would be the best solution. They have sealed flues so the chimney only draws from the firebox but they need professional installation.

I now have an antique decorative (fake) fireplace with an electric (fake) flame effect fire, but I don’t use it for heating, just for the cosiness.
If money were no object AND they delivered outside the UK, I’d get a brilliant yellow Everhot electric “wood burner” - adorable!

www.quinceandcook.co.uk/products/new-everhot-electric-stove
😍

Chimney balloon. But I later boarded mine up with a sort of thick metal foiled backed sort of plywood. Can't remember what it's called-you get it in b and q

Ahhh the lovely @pigletjohn

(Hope you're OK, haven't seen your name for a while 😊)

A chimney balloon is my first thought, same as PP

DH needs to sort something out today. So rolled up newspaper, rags, anything you have to hand. But I wouldn’t board it up permanently with rags, paper, duvet as insulation, any damp in the chimney will rot it.

I second being cautious with a permanent solution, we have a chimney balloon up in the winter and remove it all summer to let the chimney breathe and dry out. Also helps to cool the house in hot weather with the air flow.

Seriously OP - a cushion or pillow in a plastic bag and shoved up there will stop all the heat going up the chimney for now, and give time to come up with a proper solution. I used to do it half the year when we had an open fire that wasn't used until winter.

I'd prefer something that can't burn. There has to be a bit of ventilation of a disused flue or it will get damp inside from condensation. When boarded or bricked up you leave a ventilator like an airbrick. The top can be blocked with a board and cavity rendered or boarded as a useful cupboard, bookshelf, wine store, wallsafe.

There will a lot of dirt, soot and dead birds to fall down.