ᐅ Chimney Preparation During Shell Construction of a New Single-Family House

Hello everyone,

I have signed the construction contract with a general contractor (Heinz von Heiden) without a chimney. I might be able to include it later during discussions with the architect.

Problem:
- A chimney from Schiedel costs about 5000€ (around $5,500) and takes up space
- Additionally, there is an inspection fee from the district chimney inspector
- I am not sure whether I actually need a chimney/fireplace

My idea: stainless steel chimney.
When building a house, money is almost always tight. That’s why I just want to prepare everything in advance.

What is the best way to plan for core drilling? Does anyone have experience with this?
THANK YOU for your answers.

You’ll never do it again anyway if not now

Also for exterior chimneys:

The screed in the area of the stove must be reinforced (e.g., thinner insulation, no underfloor heating), so you need to plan carefully now. For example, no electrical or plumbing installations should be placed in the floor beneath the stove or in the wall area where the future core drilling will take place.

Please also consider that if it ends up being a proper chimney: the official chimney inspection approval is only valid for a limited time (I believe 2 years). If no stove is installed within that period, a new inspection will be required according to updated regulations. Who knows what the rules regarding CO2 and other factors will be in two years? In that case, all your preparation might have been in vain.

immermehr schrieb:

- I’m not sure if I need a chimney/fireplace

Nowadays, nobody really *needs* a chimney for a new build. It’s more a question of whether you want a fireplace and are willing to spend the extra money for that “luxury.”

immermehr schrieb:

My idea: stainless steel chimney.

In my personal opinion, stainless steel external chimneys don’t look very appealing, especially on new buildings. I would either do it “properly” or not at all. But that’s just my personal view. You have to make the decision yourself. No one can take that from you.

immermehr schrieb:

My idea: stainless steel chimney.
When building a house, 99% of the time there is always a lack of money. That’s why I only want to prepare everything.

• What exactly do you want to prepare?
• An external stainless steel chimney automatically means the heating appliance must be located on the outside wall ==> inflexible
• Preparing means the floor structure also has to be ready ==> inflexible, as this fixes the spot in advance
• Unattractive exterior appearance on a new build
• Later installation plus core drilling will bring new dirt into the house
• Later on, there will be so many ongoing tasks that any surplus money gets spent on various things rather than on the chimney

There are many reasons against postponing work on the fireplace and chimney. The only positive effect: you save money right now. If funds are really tight, then leave out the fireplace completely. Otherwise, do it properly and right away.

Such a result is not achievable retrospectively, for example:

immermehr schrieb:

I'm not sure if I need a chimney/fireplace

That basically settles it. You install a fireplace if you really want one, for example, because it's nice to have a fire in winter and you enjoy sitting comfortably in front of it.
There are no practical or objectively economic reasons to have a fireplace.