Nothing is more annoying than a chimney that either forces cold air or smoke into the room where the appliance is. Some extreme cases we have encountered have had such a downdraft that it has been impossible to light the fire.

Unfortunately there are many causes that range from an incorrectly constructed chimney, high pressure zones across a roof area through to cold caused by moisture penetration into the flue, plus a host of other issues that cause or contribute to the problems.

Whilst it can sometimes be a time consuming process of elimination necessary to get to the solution it is a process worth undertaking as the improvements in room heat and bills can be considerable.

Fitting an 'anti-downdraft' cowl is rarely the solution although it is unfortunately often the first thing people do. If you think logically what is happening with a downdraft is the chimney is working in reverse, fitting a cowl is less likely to change this, unless you have eliminated the other extraneous causes and are simply left with air movement.

There are some good publications on the internet that can help you self diagnose downdraft issues. Click on the image to take you to one of the better ones. If you still require help we would be delighted to assist.