Antique reclaimed or salvaged wood burning stoves and the law
London West, UK
Can old wood burning stoves which are not on the HETAS approved list be fitted legally into homes in the UK? This is a question which I have been trying to answer after I was told that some dealers have stopped dealing in antique wood burning stoves altogether because they had been told by customers that old stoves can no longer be fitted because of a change in UK regulations. HETAS is the official body recognised by the UK government to approve wood burning stoves and fuels, including installers and servicing.
Not only fitting old woodburning stoves has become more problematic, but most salvaged products, because of increasingly pro-new consumer and building regulations. Many changes were driven by manufacturers who saw standards as a way of making old and more durable building products obsolete. Most standards committees in Britain and Europe are composed entirely of manufacturers. If they were to be fair and representative standards committees should contain at least the same number of private consumers as they do industry reps.
Many new standards and regulations are ostensibly created to address health and safety and environmental concerns, which usually involve new testing and compliance systems to be created which can be costly for a manufacturer. The period of enforcement which follows often seems to preclude non-conforming products, including old reclaimed ones. When I write 'seemed to preclude' this is because if any change in law actually precluded antique reclaimed or salvaged items then before the law was changed the salvage sector would have to be consulted and a costed plan drawn up to reimburse it for the cost of disposing of all its antique reclaimed and salvaged stock.
In Europe, where most legislation is spawned, the general view is that reuse is a good thing provided human health is not compromised. Salvo's argument, since 1992, has been that if any product was proved really dangerous to human health, then that product should have been condemned, removed from all buildings where it was installed, and disposed of safely during the building's lifetime. It just too convenient for manufacturers, many of whom made the old products which they were now condemning, to stop the reuse of their items as secondhand simply because this eats into the market share of the new 'better' standardised products, all ultimately at the cost of the consumer - who is never represented in the whole process in the first place. This would be like the car industry banning the sale of all secondhand cars in order to encourage more new ones to be built and sold.
New wood burning stoves which pass the HETAS tests are placed on an approved list. HETAS also trains and registers installers, has a list of approved retailers, and also trains local authorities and building inspectors.
Salvo asked HETAS if it was true that UK antique, reclaimed and salvaged stoves in good working order were not allowed to be fitted because they were not on the HETAS approved list, and if this was the case, the laws or regulations which govern their reuse.
Alan Young of HETAS replied that HETAS was aware of confusion surrounding the need for CE marking and the Construction Product Regulations, and have agreed with Trading Standards the following statement:
The Construction Product Regulation applies to any individual product that was placed in the supply chain from the 1st July 2013. Products placed on the market from that date are required to be CE marked by virtue of this Regulation. Any solid fuel products (including wood burning and biomass) and associated equipment are therefore required to bear the CE mark. If a product does not bear the CE mark then enquiries should be made to ensure that it was placed on the market prior to the 1st July 2013. Placed on the market means, available in the supply chain within the EU market. If this cannot be confirmed, a non CE marked product must not be installed. This statement is intended as a summary of the law and is given in good faith, however only the Courts can provide a definitive interpretation of Statute Law."
This means that old wood burning stoves do not need to be CE marked to be sold and fitted. But as Mr. Young points out, "It is not a legal requirement that an appliance has to be HETAS approved, and you can install non-approved appliances but you have to ensure that the appliance meets the necessary requirements of British and European Standards. You will need to verify this (including minimum efficiency) which can be problematic for antique stoves; If you have not got any manufacturers literature to reference then the likelihood is you will not be able to verify the aforementioned and will not be able to install or notify legitimately."
So this means that for an antique reclaimed or salvaged stove to be fitted as a working stove in a house it would need to be tested, and various documents supplied with it, as well as a declaration of performance from the supplier. If the stove was for decoration only, or placed in non-habitable buildings such as a detached greenhouse, then as I understand it under Part J of the Building Regulations, no documentation or testing would be required.
If a reclamation yard sells an untested antique reclaimed or salvaged stove, in my view, it would seem sensible to label and sell it as 'Not tested for purpose under Part J of the Building Regulations. Only suitable for decorative use, or in certain greenhouses or conservatories.'
In theory, a private buyer who is a competent DIY builder and has installed antique stoves before can buy an old untested stove from a salvage yard, and install it in his or her own house but, apart from possible insurance implications, there is a risk that when the house is sold the new owner could sue the DIYer for the cost of testing the antique stove and its installation or replacing it with a new HETAS-approved stove.
Some architectural salvage yards, such as UK Architectural Antiques, state on its antique stove ads, 'We recommend this stove is fitted by a fully qualified HETAS Engineer'.
I asked several HETAS approved installers if they were allowed to fit stoves that were not on the HETAS approved list, to which all but one said they could, but every one said that although they could fit non-HETAS approved none of them would. I did not ask them if it would make a difference if a salvage yard tested a stove and produced its own declaration of performance. However this will be asked once an old stove has been tested.
How do you test a wood burning stove? Salvo plans to do this and report on it in a future SalvoNEWS story.
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NOTE: The opinions above are mine alone and do not represent the views of Salvo Ltd. Although I have run both a salvage yard and a building business which has installed stoves and fireplaces, I do not claim to be an expert in building or consumer law or wood burning stoves so please take professional advice before acting on the foregoing - TKay
Find antique, reclaimed and salvaged stoves for sale on the Salvo online marketplace for architectural salvage and search stove.
Salvo online marketplace for architectural salvage
Not only fitting old woodburning stoves has become more problematic, but most salvaged products, because of increasingly pro-new consumer and building regulations. Many changes were driven by manufacturers who saw standards as a way of making old and more durable building products obsolete. Most standards committees in Britain and Europe are composed entirely of manufacturers. If they were to be fair and representative standards committees should contain at least the same number of private consumers as they do industry reps.
Many new standards and regulations are ostensibly created to address health and safety and environmental concerns, which usually involve new testing and compliance systems to be created which can be costly for a manufacturer. The period of enforcement which follows often seems to preclude non-conforming products, including old reclaimed ones. When I write 'seemed to preclude' this is because if any change in law actually precluded antique reclaimed or salvaged items then before the law was changed the salvage sector would have to be consulted and a costed plan drawn up to reimburse it for the cost of disposing of all its antique reclaimed and salvaged stock.
In Europe, where most legislation is spawned, the general view is that reuse is a good thing provided human health is not compromised. Salvo's argument, since 1992, has been that if any product was proved really dangerous to human health, then that product should have been condemned, removed from all buildings where it was installed, and disposed of safely during the building's lifetime. It just too convenient for manufacturers, many of whom made the old products which they were now condemning, to stop the reuse of their items as secondhand simply because this eats into the market share of the new 'better' standardised products, all ultimately at the cost of the consumer - who is never represented in the whole process in the first place. This would be like the car industry banning the sale of all secondhand cars in order to encourage more new ones to be built and sold.
New wood burning stoves which pass the HETAS tests are placed on an approved list. HETAS also trains and registers installers, has a list of approved retailers, and also trains local authorities and building inspectors.
Salvo asked HETAS if it was true that UK antique, reclaimed and salvaged stoves in good working order were not allowed to be fitted because they were not on the HETAS approved list, and if this was the case, the laws or regulations which govern their reuse.
Alan Young of HETAS replied that HETAS was aware of confusion surrounding the need for CE marking and the Construction Product Regulations, and have agreed with Trading Standards the following statement:
The Construction Product Regulation applies to any individual product that was placed in the supply chain from the 1st July 2013. Products placed on the market from that date are required to be CE marked by virtue of this Regulation. Any solid fuel products (including wood burning and biomass) and associated equipment are therefore required to bear the CE mark. If a product does not bear the CE mark then enquiries should be made to ensure that it was placed on the market prior to the 1st July 2013. Placed on the market means, available in the supply chain within the EU market. If this cannot be confirmed, a non CE marked product must not be installed. This statement is intended as a summary of the law and is given in good faith, however only the Courts can provide a definitive interpretation of Statute Law."
This means that old wood burning stoves do not need to be CE marked to be sold and fitted. But as Mr. Young points out, "It is not a legal requirement that an appliance has to be HETAS approved, and you can install non-approved appliances but you have to ensure that the appliance meets the necessary requirements of British and European Standards. You will need to verify this (including minimum efficiency) which can be problematic for antique stoves; If you have not got any manufacturers literature to reference then the likelihood is you will not be able to verify the aforementioned and will not be able to install or notify legitimately."
So this means that for an antique reclaimed or salvaged stove to be fitted as a working stove in a house it would need to be tested, and various documents supplied with it, as well as a declaration of performance from the supplier. If the stove was for decoration only, or placed in non-habitable buildings such as a detached greenhouse, then as I understand it under Part J of the Building Regulations, no documentation or testing would be required.
If a reclamation yard sells an untested antique reclaimed or salvaged stove, in my view, it would seem sensible to label and sell it as 'Not tested for purpose under Part J of the Building Regulations. Only suitable for decorative use, or in certain greenhouses or conservatories.'
In theory, a private buyer who is a competent DIY builder and has installed antique stoves before can buy an old untested stove from a salvage yard, and install it in his or her own house but, apart from possible insurance implications, there is a risk that when the house is sold the new owner could sue the DIYer for the cost of testing the antique stove and its installation or replacing it with a new HETAS-approved stove.
Some architectural salvage yards, such as UK Architectural Antiques, state on its antique stove ads, 'We recommend this stove is fitted by a fully qualified HETAS Engineer'.
I asked several HETAS approved installers if they were allowed to fit stoves that were not on the HETAS approved list, to which all but one said they could, but every one said that although they could fit non-HETAS approved none of them would. I did not ask them if it would make a difference if a salvage yard tested a stove and produced its own declaration of performance. However this will be asked once an old stove has been tested.
How do you test a wood burning stove? Salvo plans to do this and report on it in a future SalvoNEWS story.
- - - - - -
NOTE: The opinions above are mine alone and do not represent the views of Salvo Ltd. Although I have run both a salvage yard and a building business which has installed stoves and fireplaces, I do not claim to be an expert in building or consumer law or wood burning stoves so please take professional advice before acting on the foregoing - TKay
Find antique, reclaimed and salvaged stoves for sale on the Salvo online marketplace for architectural salvage and search stove.
Story Type: Opinion