There is much misconception about pressure tests. We often get told by customers that their chimney sweep has tested the chimney and said it is “sound” however the only acceptable test is that specified in Document ‘J’ of the building regulations.
A pressure test for solid fuel is to identify leaking chimneys and requires the chimney to be pre-heated and a smoke pellet ignited, as the smoke reaches the top of the chimney the chimney should be capped top and bottom and then a visual inspection carried out of the whole chimney stack to check for leaks.
Please note: a pressure test is different to a flue draught test which is done at the end of the installation to assess the flue performance.
