smokey fireplace

[kelly]

anyone got any good tips in creating good draw for smoke up the chimney. I have a fairly standard 80*80 cm square fireplace,with one of those metal flaps on a chain that obviously has to be opened that one tends to see in Spanish houses problem is when i start the fire i get a lot of smoke in the living room. Does a good sweep solve the problem or one of those fire bricks I have seen in the supermarkets or am i trying to start the fire by putting to much wood and paper on in the first place i wonder..any ideas welcome so we dont freeze this winter..

[hillybilly]

Could be your chimney's a bit blocked after last year? Try a product called "DESHOLLIN" a "destructor del alquitran y del hollin". Instructions on the tub for use, from all good ferreterias! €8 per 1kg.
Depending on your situation, make sure nobody's built anything close to your chimney which could now be preventing a draw eg a new storey on the house next door - it does happen! In which case you'll have to increase the height of your chimney.

[gretch]

If cleaning the chimney doesn’t have much effect, try opening a door or a window, because, if hot air and smoke are to go up the chimney, new air has to come into the room to replace it, if this works, then ventilation is a problem.