SUMMARY:
- application area: Heritage Renovation
- use type: Open Fire
- project scope: Recommission nine original chimney flues across a five-storey listed townhouse
- added value: Full restoration of heritage fireplaces, compliant with modern draft and safety standards, without altering the protected building fabric
Background
Dennis Severs’ House in London offers visitors a glimpse into life in the 18th and 19th centuries. This five-storey terraced property, built in the early 18th century, features original functioning fireplaces on each floor — a rare survival that forms a central part of the immersive experience the house is known for.
As a listed building, any intervention on the fabric of the property carries strict constraints. The fireplaces needed to be brought back into safe, working order without compromising the historic chimney structures that make the house what it is.
Statement of work
A specialist contractor carried out a full survey of the chimneys and recommended FuranFlex 25 liners as the only suitable solution. The liners are folded and inflated after being suspended inside each chimney, taking on the exact shape of the surrounding chimney walls before being hardened using steam — creating a fireproof, gas-tight, and corrosion-resistant flue.
Because the liner conforms to the existing chimney rather than requiring it to be resized or rebuilt, the method preserved the listed fabric while delivering a larger internal opening than a conventional rigid liner could. This maximised flue diameter, improving draft naturally and removing the need for chimney fans.
With the old flues relined in this way, nine fireplaces across the five floors were recommissioned and made fully operational within two weeks.
This project simply would not have been possible with a conventional rigid lining system, which would have restricted the flue opening and risked damage to the historic chimney breasts. FuranFlex 25 allowed the fireplaces to be restored authentically and safely, letting this house to continue to transport visitors back through centuries of London life.
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