Hi - that would be great thanks! I'd like to get to the bottom of this as it would be useful info for a lot of members. We've been with Allianz for several years (various policies, house, two cars etc.) and have never heard this. I've recently (within the last week) swapped as they seem increasingly uncompetitive. I've just changed the house insurance and saved 336€!!
I used three different price comparison sites and got numerous quotes. Not a single one asked me who had installed the wood burner!
We are with Allianz but having installed ourselves it made no difference whatsoever. Can it be that one agent or another has a different story to tell? I think we notice that in a variety of posts on a range of topics, so how are we to REALLY know?
I spoke directly to them and was advised by them of this new rule regarding installation of wood burners by qualified artisans. They quoted me around 548 euros for house insurance compared to 320 euros with my current insurer. It was when I asked why they had quoted such a high premium, that Allianz informed me it was becuase I did not have a certificate from a qualified artisan for the installation. Even though our builder helped us install it that was not good enough. Hope this clarifies things. Needless to say I have kept with my current insurer, but its a little unnerving as to how things would go if I ever made a claim. I have their number if you wish to contact them. However I am in the UK working at present so it will be a couple of days before I can send it to you.
Thanks for the reply and I think we are looking for about a 12kw output not sure whether to go for wood or pellets at the moment. Have heard to be careful about delivery of wood and storage.
Well I had a look but could only see their T&C - you mentioned new 'rules' and it was this that I wondered about a link to? I haven't heard anything??? Thanks! x
Allianz insurance are very informative about the rules for house insurance regarding wood burners www.tminsurance.eu They speak English which is also helpful.
You can install the wood burner yourself but under the new house insurance rules you will be charged a much higher premium for your house insurance, if you have not got a professional to install it and the certificate to prove it.
We installed our wood burner ouselves and as it was a new house it was checked out by the builders. It is a good idea though to get the flu cleaned out every few years which is about 75 - 90 euros. don't go thourgh an immobillier as you will end up paying over 100 Euros, best to get a recommendation from neighbours in your area.
We have kept our electric heaters but only use them now rarely as a back up. Hope this helps
Thanks for that information I think I will investigate to see whether the chimney vent is still in place, that seems a more efficient way of heating the house if it is there.
You forgot to mention that your clothes always smell like firewood and at some point you inevitably run out of wood in the middle of the night and have to go out and search and freeze your xxx off. Oh, and the rooms farthest from the stove are colder; wood stoves don't have thermostats to keep each room the same temperature!
We have two wood burning stoves. Wood burning is our sole source of heat. We never fill the oil tanks, even though we have a hot water-generated oil fuel tank and radiators throughout the house. Why? Wood burning is cheaper; but it's a lot of work!
We had a house fire this winter due to a fire in the chimney. We put the fire out, but apparently it had heated the wooden beams in the attic to the point that they simmered all night and caught full fire by the next afternoon, and we had no idea.
Also, keep in mind you have to have a certified chimney sweep clean and provide a facture EVERY YEAR so that if there is a problem insurance will pay.
Finally, I would add that I LOVE my wood stoves, but we are in our 40s. As we get older I imagine it will be harder to keep up with the hard work of burning wood for warmth. Some days I wouldn't trade it; and some days I would give anything to just turn up the thermostat.
Hello. I've been restoring and selling french antique woodburners to clients in the UK since 2006. I have a website with lots of links about fitting and practical aspects all from the UK, so all in English. http://frenchstoves.webs.com/ecoreasons.htm
If I had money to invest, I would get a newer efficient stove with an ecofan of some type...or an electric fan to divert the chimney heat back into the rooms. I would also use a back boiler, integrated with a passive solar water panel to provide all the heat for radiators in the rest of the house.
Some modern stoves are so efficient, especially those with catalytic convertors, that hardly any smoke is produced. They burn clean and have far less chopping, dusting and carrying of wood for your euro than older models. You get what you pay for generally. for the very least effort, pellet stoves are best.
There's also heat exchangers to consider though, these days, if you have money to invest and you want to save energy and ensure low bills in the future, heat exchangers are a very exciting way to go.
My absolute favorite chimney and stove designs though, are these masonry heaters. They are just so beautiful, efficient and will keep the visitors impressed forever. http://www.mha-net.org/html/gallery.htm
I have just had a Godin "Golden" installed by company in Beziers, and I am very happy with the result. We elected to have a new flu installed that runs up through the middle of the house that supplies a small amount of heat to the floors above. All of the interior flu above the original room are now insulated so that even at full, blast it is no more than about 50 C to the touch. There is a system called Pugolat which is quite plug and play but not so cheap "prix public" in my case there were 10m to be installed to get to the top and that is where your price can really go up, we went with a pro as the cost of materials to me was only about 1.5 K less than having the experts install . I would investigate further as to whether your chimney stack may still be there behind some plaster board even if the actual fireplace has been removed. Venting straight to the outside may be your only option but the flu is obliged to go all the way to the roof anyway and you will be loosing heat that could be diffused at other levels of your house. The tubing they put inside your old chimney is a much cheaper option usually.
PS I think to qualify for the credit impot you have to have an older system removed when you have the installation done OR of course an installer who is happy to say that was the case. Good luck
We had a woodburner (Jotul F600) installed about 6 years ago by a local specialist supplier. The total cost was approx. 4500 Euros .... this included everything i.e the cost of the stove, installation of a flue liner and a vent/cap on the existing chimney. In my opinion, it was money well spent. Our winter electricty bills have fallen considerably and most importantly now the house is warm. We run the stove 24/7 between November and mid March and use about 12 sters of logs a year. Around here, 50cm dry logs (Oak or Beech) cost around 50 Euros per ster - You have to be careful when buying the logs because the "cowboys" often short deliver and try to pass-off inferior quality wood - I learned who to use and what to buy by talking to my neighbours.
We bought the stove with the biggest output we could find ... it just seemed logical at the time and has worked out well.
Reading through this thread there are quite a few opinions, I contacted our insurers and they have no requirement for a pro ramoneur to clean the chimney so I do it myself. When NASA need to call in a ramoneur then I will deem it too difficult, until then I just write down when I do it each year. Keeping the chimney clean also depends on what you burn and how you burn it. All night burns will generally coat the liner and full burns will help to remove deposits. How you light the fire has a bearing too. There was a comment on the cost of fire lighters. Try lighting using the top down method and you will not only light quicker but you won't keep on opening the fire after some kindling size bits have burnt. Top down works and allows you to completely fill the stove in one go. Because it heats the flue quickly you get a better draw immediately which gets the whole fire up and running in no time and gives a cleaner burn. It's not me in the video LoL
I was thinking back to my first wood burner installation which I think would have been 1984. I went out looking for regulations for building safety and eventually got something from the BSI. I had a look last night to see if I still have it, which I do not unfortunately. I believe one of the things it listed was that wood burners reduce the risk of house fires by around 80% (back then, remember) and that with flue pipes (the flexi stuff did not exist, so it was solid steel flues then) the risk was even lower. I am simply adding this because the clauses insurance companies here and certainly in the UK throw in regarding installation are quite obviously designed to work in their favour. If using a regular, open fire is just part of normal insurance but only a 'properly' installed burner must be evidenced seems such an obvious contradiction that I simply wonder if it is not just a money spinner and fire claims will, as always, be subject to the fire service inspector's report anyway rather than some bits of paper that might well have gone up in flames with your house. Call me the suspicious kind, but bearing in mind that all one gets is a company's bit of paper but the installer may have no idea and have botched the who thing badly, isn't the fire inspector's report still going to throw blame back into one's own court? Jacquie's comments above say something exactly along the same lines and I get the feeling that others could as easily say the same.