What is the best wood to burn?
The best firewood is simply dry firewood. Here is how to spot logs under 20% moisture, what the Ready to Burn label means, how to season…
Stoves for Gateshead's mix of homes
Gateshead's housing changes a lot within a few streets. Around Bensham and Saltwell, many homes are Tyneside flats built before 1919: one flat upstairs, one down, each with its own front door. Climb towards Low Fell and Sheriff Hill and you find Victorian and Edwardian terraces and semis, then interwar and post-war estates further out towards Felling, Wrekenton and Dunston. Each type raises different questions when you want a stove, and the right answer for a Low Fell villa is rarely the right answer for a Bensham flat.
Most older Gateshead homes were built with coal fires, so there is often a chimney breast to work with. Many of those openings have since been bricked up, fitted with gas fires or had breasts removed downstairs. A survey is the only way to know what you actually have.
Smoke control comes first
Gateshead Council states that the vast majority of the borough is designated a smoke control area, with a number of exempt areas. In practice that means most Gateshead homeowners should plan on one of two routes:
- Choose a Defra-exempt stove, which is approved to burn wood in a smoke control area, used with the manufacturer's instructions.
- Or burn only authorised smokeless fuels, which suits a multi-fuel stove.
Since the Environment Act 2021, councils in England can issue civil penalties for smoke emitted from a chimney in a smoke control area, so this is worth getting right at the start. We will check your address against the council's information during the survey. Our guide to how smoke control areas work explains the detail.
Tyneside flats: what to expect
Tyneside flats are usually held on cross-leases, where each owner holds an interest in the other flat. The roof and roof space are normally part of the upstairs flat, and chimney stacks are often shared between the two. Before any liner goes up a shared stack, it helps to:
- Check your title or lease for who is responsible for the stack and roof.
- Talk to your neighbour, as work on the stack and pot affects both flats.
- Confirm which flue serves your flat, since stacks often carry several flues side by side.
An upstairs flat may have a short flue run, which affects how well a stove draws. That is something a survey will measure, not guess.
Flue and chimney options
Lining an existing chimney
Most Victorian and Edwardian chimneys in Gateshead were never designed for a modern stove. A flexible stainless steel liner, insulated and connected to the stove, gives a sealed, correctly sized flue. Read more about chimney lining for older houses.
No chimney
Post-war and newer homes, including some estates around Leam Lane and Kibblesworth, may have no usable chimney. A twin-wall insulated flue can run up an outside wall or through the house, subject to Building Regulations clearances.
Hearth and opening
Old openings often need rebuilding to give a compliant constructional hearth and safe distances to combustible materials, including the timber floors common in older terraces.
Wood-burning, multi-fuel or replacement
A wood-burning stove suits people with access to dry, seasoned logs, as long as the model is Defra-exempt where you live. A multi-fuel stove gives you the choice of authorised smokeless fuel. If you already have an older stove, a like-for-like replacement with a current Ecodesign model can often use the existing liner, if it is in good condition.
Conservation areas and listed buildings
Gateshead has 22 conservation areas, including Saltwell, Low Fell, Whickham, Ryton, Bridges and Sheriff Hill. Saltwell is covered by Article 4 directions that remove some permitted development rights on almost every property. An external twin-wall flue or a new stack in a conservation area, and many works to a listed building, may need planning permission or listed building consent. We recommend checking with Gateshead Council's planning team before work starts.
How the process works
- Enquiry. Tell us about your home and what you would like.
- Survey. We look at the chimney or flue route, hearth, room size and ventilation.
- Recommendation. A suitable stove size and type, including smoke control needs.
- Written quote. Every home is different, so prices are confirmed in writing.
- Installation. Liner or flue, hearth work, stove fitting and testing.
- Handover. We show you how to use the stove. The work is certified through a competent person scheme such as HETAS or signed off by Building Control, and a carbon monoxide alarm is fitted in the room, as required in England for new or replacement solid fuel appliances.
Get a free quote
Whether you are in a Bensham flat or a Whickham semi, we can tell you what is realistic for your home. Ask Northcrest Stoves for a free survey and quote.
