Hebburn · Tyne and Wear
Hebburn sits on the south bank of the Tyne between Gateshead and Jarrow, looking across the water to Walker and Wallsend. It is a town shaped by the shipyard and the switchgear works, with housing that ranges from older terraces near the river to post-war estates and new homes on former industrial land. A wood-burning stove can be fitted in almost any of them with the right planning.
Tyne & Ember installs log burners and multi-fuel stoves across Hebburn. We carry out a site assessment, look at your chimney or flue options, and give you a written quote. We also talk you through the local smoke control position before you choose a stove.
Hebburn's older housing grew up to serve the colliery, Leslie's shipyard and later Reyrolle's switchgear works. Terraces and flats from this period generally have brick chimneys built for coal fires. Many have been capped or had their pots removed, and some have been taken down to roof level. We check whether the chimney is complete, open and sound before discussing a liner.
A lot of Hebburn was rebuilt in the twentieth century. Semis and terraces from this era often have a chimney breast in the living room, usually with a gas fire or back boiler in it. These homes can be well suited to a stove once the opening is prepared and the flue lined.
Newer homes, including developments on the riverside, are usually built without chimneys and to high airtightness standards. A twin-wall flue system and a carefully planned air supply are typically required.
If you live in an upper flat, the floor beneath the hearth must be able to take the weight and meet the regulations for hearth construction, which we check during the assessment.
Hebburn is part of South Tyneside, where the council has made smoke control orders across much of the borough over several decades. Most Hebburn homes are likely to be affected, but you should check your own address rather than rely on a general rule.
Where an order applies, wood can only be burned in a Defra-exempt stove, and otherwise you are limited to authorised smokeless fuels. Exempt stoves are widely available and look much like any other stove. Buy dry wood, ideally with the Ready to Burn mark, which shows a moisture content of 20% or less. Use Defra's smoke control area map to check your address, or contact the council through South Tyneside Council's air quality pages.
Our services in Hebburn
Hebburn installations often mean reopening a chimney that was capped years ago, or fitting a new flue to a modern home. The services below cover both, along with hearths and replacements for older stoves.
Planning and fitting a new wood-burning stove or log burner, from checking your chimney and hearth to commissioning the stove and talking you through using it safely. We plan and fit wood-burning stoves for homes in Newcastle, across Tyne & Wear and the wider North East, starting with a site assessment so the stove suits your room, your chimney and the local smoke control rules.
Fitting multi-fuel stoves that can burn wood or approved smokeless fuels, with the right liner, hearth and air supply, and clear advice on what you can legally burn locally. A multi-fuel stove can burn logs or approved smokeless fuels, which gives you flexibility through a North East winter. We fit them in homes across Newcastle, Tyne & Wear and beyond, and make sure you know what you can…
Swapping an old, oversized or inefficient stove for a modern Ecodesign model, with the chimney, liner, hearth and ventilation checked so the new stove works safely. If your current stove is old, smoky, cracked or simply the wrong size, we can replace it with a modern model. We serve homes in Newcastle, across Tyne & Wear and the wider North East, and check the whole installation…
Lining existing chimneys and fitting new flue systems for stoves, including twin-wall flues for homes without a chimney, all planned around a proper inspection first. A stove is only as safe as the flue it's connected to. We assess chimneys and plan lining or new flue systems for homes in Newcastle, across Tyne & Wear and the wider North East, usually as part of a stove installation.
Preparing hearths and fireplace openings for a stove, from opening up a blocked fireplace to laying a new hearth that meets the regulations and suits your room. The hearth and fireplace opening are where safety and looks meet. We prepare hearths and fireplace openings for stoves in homes across Newcastle, Tyne & Wear and the wider North East, as part of planning a stove…
Before you choose a stove
Usually. A capped chimney can often be brought back into use by removing the cap, fitting a new pot or terminal and lining the flue. If the stack has been taken down below roof level, it may need rebuilding or a different flue route. A roof-level inspection tells us which applies.
If you are in a flat, a leasehold property or a house with a shared stack, you may need permission for work to the chimney or roof. Check your lease or title deeds, and talk to the freeholder or neighbours early so the job is not held up.
Most stoves heat the room they are in, and your central heating continues to run as normal. Some households turn down radiator thermostats in the living room when the stove is lit. If you want a stove that heats radiators or water, that is a larger project to discuss at the assessment.
New homes are well sealed, so a stove usually needs a permanent air supply, either a wall vent or a stove that draws air directly from outside through a duct. Building Regulations set the requirement based on the home's airtightness and the stove's output.
It depends on what you burn and how often, but a lined chimney serving a wood stove is generally swept at least once a year, and more often with heavy use. Regular sweeping removes soot and tar and lets the sweep spot any problems early.
Hebburn began as a small settlement on the Tyne, and from the early seventeenth century much of the land belonged to the Ellison family of Newcastle, whose Hebburn Hall estate grew over the following centuries. Coal was worked locally for hundreds of years; Hebburn Colliery opened in 1792, and in 1815 Humphry Davy tested gas samples from it while developing his miners' safety lamp.
In 1853 the Aberdeen shipbuilder Andrew Leslie set up a yard on Ellison land. It merged with R and W Hawthorn in 1885 to form Hawthorn Leslie, which built the destroyer HMS Kelly, commanded by Lord Louis Mountbatten, whose story inspired the 1942 film In Which We Serve. Reyrolle's switchgear works opened in 1901. More recently the town gave its name to the BBC sitcom Hebburn, written by local comedian Jason Cook.
Map of Hebburn
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FAQs
South Tyneside Council has made smoke control orders covering much of the borough, and most Hebburn homes are likely to be included. Check your exact address on Defra's smoke control map or with the council. If covered, use a Defra-exempt stove for wood or burn only authorised smokeless fuel.
Sometimes. It depends on the floor structure, the route for the flue and consent from the freeholder or other owners. Upper-floor flats need a hearth that the floor can support. We look at the building and give you an honest view on whether it is feasible.
Yes. We work in Hebburn and the surrounding areas, including Monkton, Pelaw, Bill Quay, Felling and Wardley. Several of these fall within Gateshead rather than South Tyneside, so the smoke control orders and the council you deal with can differ. We check the position for each address before recommending a stove.
Because fitting a solid-fuel stove is notifiable, the work must be certified by an installer registered with a competent person scheme or approved through Building Control. Either way, you should receive a document confirming compliance. Keep it with your home's paperwork, as insurers and future buyers may want to see it.
Yes. When a new solid-fuel appliance is installed, the Building Regulations require a carbon monoxide alarm in the same room. We fit one with every stove in Hebburn, explain what the different alarm sounds mean, and recommend testing it every month throughout the heating season and beyond.
Send us a few details and photos and we will arrange a site assessment and a clear written quote.
From our blog
Regulations & safety
The whole of Newcastle upon Tyne is a smoke control area. Here is what that means for a log burner: exempt appliances, authorised fuels, the penalties that now apply, and how to check elsewhere in the region.
Buying guides
Kilowatts, room sizes and rules of thumb, explained simply. Why an oversized stove causes problems, how insulation changes the picture, and when extra ventilation is needed under Building Regulations.
Stove advice
Not every chimney needs a liner, but many older ones do. Here is how installers decide, what the main liner options are, and how a chimney's condition is checked before and after a stove goes in.