Are there any rules about wood burners and their smoke?

[ChancetoDance]

Our neighbour has had one installed, complete with shiny metal chimney which bellows out wood smoke all day long.

My washing smells like it's been dried over a bonfire and the house smells the same if I open a window/door so much as a crack.

How is this OK?

It depends on whether you're in a smoke free area as to what they're allowed to burn.

Even in clean air areas some wood burners are fine. There are plenty excused in my smokeless zone as they are so efficient at burning.

However if there's an external flue the top needs to be a metre above the roofline, meaning that the vast majority of the smoke will blow further away.

I think you just have to put up with it. We have one that we run probably 3 times a week and I put out our washing on the line too. It only affects the smell of washing when the air is still and the woodsmoke is hanging about.

In summer they won't be running the woodburner. You could get revenge by having barbecues when they have their washing out, or something.

Check the local authority website on this to find out if you are in smoke free zone. You can report it.

Many wood burners are exempt from regulation in smoke free zones though so this may be worth checking too.

Thanks. I think I will ring the council for advice. I've just been out to organise the bins (lots after Christmas ) and it really does stink out there (and now inside, as I have the nerve to open my own front door)

The flue is pretty tall so probably meets regs and maybe helps the immediate neighbours but we are a few doors down, does the smoke sink?

Could be a considered a statutory nuisance under the Environmental Protection Act 1990. Contact your local authority Environmental Health Dept for advice. Start to keep a log of when the smoke affects you. You could also approach your neighbour directly about the issue.

The flue does not have to be a meter high from the roof. When they had the chimney lined they will have had to adhere to regulations and the fitter will have either had to be registered or the installation inspected by building control. Either way building control should have been informed. You can check by ringing the council. Im quite surprised you are getting lots of smoke. Maybe have a word with them. Ask them what fuels they are burning. You really should nt burn certain types of fuel in a lined chimney, also burners often specify only certain types of fuel.

Cataline it is more about the type of fuel but yes certain burners are defra approved and that affects the type of glue you need. In smoke control areas you can only burn wood or smokeless fuel (which is shite so most folk stick with logs)

The flue on an external flue LEM, I've got one.

A 30 foot stainless steel flue outside the house, it must be a metre above the roofline.

In chimneys the rules are different.

Flue not glue!

Ah yes you are right yes laurie. I stand corrected :)

Is that a metre higher than the apex? Even if it comes out of the side? Or a meter from the start of the roof?

I've had a look again today. they have a very tall external flue which probably is 1m higher than the roof where they meet but is about 1m short of the apex. Is this right? Or is the "roofline" the top of the first floor?

www.woodburningstovesdirect.com/pdfs/104_Building%20Regulations%20Part%20J%20Stove%20Installation.pdf

The rules are in the doc above. I think it's 600mm above the ridge, not the apex - but there are other rules associated with it.

OP, I know how you feel. Our neighbours burn their stove 24/7, even on warm days, and it stinks our whole garden and house out. We cant dry washing outside, open windows or doors, the smoke even comes into the house through the tumble dryer vent! It's making our lives a misery. We've had this for a long time now and are coming to the conclusion that the only thing to do is to move house as any legal action for nuisance is unlikely to succeed and would only cost us a lot of money and make our house unsellable. We're not in a smoke control area but even when our neighbours burn so called "smokeless" fuel (which they sometimes do) we can smell it, and if anything it's worse than the smell from wood. Sorry for the negative post but I know how you feel. I think wood burning stoves should be banned by law!

Hi, we are in the same boat and have been for the last year. Our Council Environmental Health department do not think that smoke filling our garden and house on a daily basis (several times a day) is having any impact on our health or social amenity. In order to highlight the aspects they neglect to acknowledge, I've set up a Twitter page. If this issue is having an impact on your daily life, please follow me. The site is:

twitter.com/AntisocialChimn

We need a voice in the UK to express concern over the impact of irresponsibly installed stoves.

I do not have an issue with wood burners that are installed responsibly (ie. above your near neighbour's roof line).

Thanks!