Stove Toolkit
Log burner vent, hearth & flue checks to UK Part J
What it does
Fitting a wood burning or multi-fuel stove? Stove Toolkit works out what Approved Document J (England) asks of the installation — the permanent air vent, the hearth, the flue size and the clearances — with every result cited to the paragraph, table or diagram behind it. Installers get a pocket Part J check; homeowners learn what their installer or building control will ask for before the stove is ordered.
Features
- Ventilation calculator — rated output and the age of the house in, the required free area of permanent ventilation out, with the Table 1 working shown and a pass or fail against what is already fitted
- Hearth checker — appliance type, free standing or in a recess, tested or not; the required hearth size and thickness drawn to scale as a plan you can export as an image or PDF
- Notice plate — fill in the fields and export the hearth and flue plate record as a PDF
- Cited reference — minimum flue sizes, clearance to combustibles for single wall and twin wall pipe, and carbon monoxide alarm rules, each saying where the manufacturer's instructions take precedence
- Private by design — no account, no ads, no tracking, no network use at all; everything works offline on site
Stove Toolkit is a pre-check, not an approval. Installing a solid fuel appliance must be carried out by a competent person, such as a HETAS registered installer, or notified to building control. Manufacturer's instructions take precedence where the regulations say so. The app is not affiliated with HETAS, DEFRA or any manufacturer. England, Approved Document J (2010 edition incorporating 2022 amendments), solid fuel appliances up to 50 kW; Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland have their own provisions. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
Guides
- What size flue does a log burner need?
Approved Document J Table 2 in plain English: when a 125 mm (5 inch) flue is allowed, when it has to be 150 mm (6 inch), the rules for rectangular flues and open fireplaces, and why the appliance outlet and the manufacturer can override the table. - Where to put a carbon monoxide alarm for a wood burner
Approved Document J requires a CO alarm in the same room as a new solid fuel stove. Here is the alarm standard it asks for, the ceiling and wall positions with their 300 mm and 150 mm rules, and the 1 m to 3 m distance from the appliance, drawn out. - Wood burner hearth rules explained
What size and thickness of hearth a wood burning stove needs in England: the 840 mm square, the 125 mm constructional hearth, the 12 mm board exception and the clear surface around the stove, drawn to scale. - Can I fit a wood burner myself?
You can do the work yourself in your own home, but installing a stove is notifiable building work. Here is the building control route, what Approved Document J will be checked against, and why most people use a registered installer instead. - Do I need an air vent for my log burner?
Whether a wood burning stove needs a permanent air vent in England, and how big it has to be: the Approved Document J Table 1 rule explained with worked examples for 5 kW, 8 kW and 12 kW stoves.