Log burner in room with flat roof, or electric fire?

[thenewaveragebear1983]

Is it possible to put a log burner into a room (existing room, not new extension) with a flat roof, and if so, what are the limitations/pitfalls?

we are having some renovations done. Room is being insulated up to modern standards and builder says we won’t need a fire, as the heating combined with insulation will be warm enough. However, we have a big draughty house and therefore we don’t use our heating all the time; in the evenings we currently use a log burner in our lounge. Lounge will be relocating to this flat roofed room.
I have considered an electric fire, but I am concerned about the ongoing costs of heating a large room with what is effectively an electric fan heater.

is it even possible to fit a burner in this room? Or alternatively, how expensive is a standard electric fireplace to run? I think electric fire will be infinitely easier and considerably cheaper to install.

The problem is that the room isnt underneath anything so although the house is draughty you say, the use of your log burner wont really benefit the rest of the house in the same way it would for example if it were sending heat upstairs

Ours is in the living room, we leave the living room door open which is open to the hall and the stairs. So the whole house gets toasty because heat rises and the bedrooms are above this room

You can get a flue put in probably through the roof but it might be better in another room

Yes you could have the flue going out through the roof or the wall behind it. I don't see why it matters if there's nothing above it - you're effectively only wanting it as a room heater anyway. Electric heaters aren't the only alternative though - have you looked at Bioethanol heaters? They're freestanding, they burn with real flame so look good, but don't have any emissions so are freestanding and don't need a flue.

@bellac11 we do have one already and it does make the house warmer like you say, the heat going up the chimney etc warms the bedrooms.
I think I need to research more about electric fires, a brief google suggests they are actually very energy efficient but I’d need to do the calculations i think of how much it would actually cost to run it for an evening

@Badtasteflump does the flue just literally come out of the roof though, or does it have to be a certain height and/or fixed to anything? I can’t picture it!

I’ve not considered bio ethanol , I’ll have a look

Well in that case definitely get one

Id love one for our dining room/kitchen too, Id have them in more than one room if I had the house layout for it

I think I need to research more about electric fires, a brief google suggests they are actually very energy efficient but I’d need to do the calculations

They are 100% efficient. However, electricity is expensive so might cost more to run than other, less efficient, forms of heating.

In the longer term a log burner may not even be usable. I love an open fire, and we have two good chimneys here, but I have reluctantly decided we ought not to have open fires or log burners. And sadly, I have come to the same conclusion with gas- I'd prefer a gas flame fire to electric when we want a little extra heat or just to heat the one room, but I don't see the point of doing it if gas will be off limits within the next decade or so, and it's not as efficient as electricity in terms of 'the planet'. It's just a pity so many electric fires with 'real flames' that are supposed to go into old fireplaces look so awful - I haven't found one that looks even remotely convincing, though I'd be very interested if anyone else has.

If the extension is up to modern insulation regs, I think your builder is probably right- if you have radiator in there it should do the job, with maybe an elctric heater just in the winter- which you can put away the rest of the year if you get a poratble one. It doesn't sound like heating that room would do much for the rest of the house either way.

We've just had an old flat roofed extension to our back room re-roofed to modern insulation standards (though we had a pitch put on at the same time) and even though the plaster isn't dry yet, it's clearly a lot warmer than before- IIRC the insulation we've had to put in to get BR approval is significantly more than double the effectiveness of the previous stuff. I think the (very small) rad in there will easily be able to cope when it's back in place- it's not all that bad now even though only the ancient and not very efficient rad way away at the opposite end of the back room itself is in operation.

That looks interesting....thanks, I'd never heard of those things.

That’s interesting, I have just googled abc found that too. Interesting how inefficient a fuel fire can be as well. I run ours all day at the moment so it’s costing a lot in logs. Heating would probably be cheaper

I suppose the real crux is how well the room holds heat once it’s warm, and that will depend on the insulation he uses. We’re having the whole ceiling and two end walls re insulated, the third wall is internal and the 4th is mostly glass. If an electric fire could run at a reasonable cost for an hour or so but the heat is retained, that wouldn’t be too bad.

All electric fires are 100% efficient. It's just physics.

As mentioned already a log burner/multifuel stove can have the flue go up and out through the flat roof, our out through the wall. The flue height will depend on adjacent rooflines and the stove's requirement for air draw. An installer will tell you what height you need to get sufficient draw and to adequately disperse the fumes.

That’s really interesting. Our extension is a 1970s self build and good god it’s freezing 🥶 if he brings it to modern spec then I hope it will make a big difference.

I like the log burner but I hate the dust and dirt, and the constant need for kindling and fire lighters and sweeping… we just had a load of logs that weren’t great and We’ve been constantly stoking this temperamental fire. I am more than happy to keep the burner in our back room and have a nice modern electric one built in to the wall in the extension so long as it isn’t ridiculously expensive to run.

sound like the combination of an efficient unit plus good insulation could be the answer

Insulation will make a huge difference but also make sure that they draughtproof it as an 70's flat roofed extension will probably be a bit leaky (for air)
With regards to flues through a flat roof
Yes they are perfectly doable how big they are and how they are restrained depends a bit on the surroundings - roof surface
All the rules are in Part J of the building regs with diagrams - see page 30-32

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachmentdata/file/1108428/ADJJ_2022.pdf