Chimneys and parapets
An open fire is boarded up and no vent was seen in the board. Has the room's air supply been tested?
No. The room's air supply has not been tested. An open fire is boarded up and no vent was seen in the board, so a former opening has been closed without an obvious air inlet in that panel. The survey did not measure airflow, did not test for combustion gases, and did not decide that the room is short of air or safely ventilated. Closing a fire can also leave the flue without a route for air if the flue itself was not vented. The missing vent is a visual note. It is not an air test.
Last reviewed 24 October 2026. Written for buyers in England and Wales unless this answer says otherwise. No named surveyor has signed this page. It is general guidance, not a report on your house, and not legal advice.
What is the fuller explanation?
A fireplace is both a feature in the room and a connection to a flue. Boarding the opening stops the room using that throat as an air path, and if no vent is cut in the board the flue may also be sealed at the bottom. The survey saw the board and the lack of a vent. It did not run a smoke test, did not check whether another appliance still needs air from this room, and did not decide the boarding is safe or unsafe. Those questions stay open.
Ask the solicitor whether any hearth, flue or ventilation note exists from an installer, and keep that paper separate from this report. If a stove or other appliance uses the room, a competent specialist can look at air supply later. That is not this visit. Do not tell a lender the room was tested for air because the board was looked at. Say the fire is boarded and no vent was seen.
What should you ask your surveyor?
- Was any airflow or combustion-gas check carried out in this room?
- Was a vent seen in the board, or only the boarded opening?
- Does another appliance in the room still depend on that air path?
What are the typical next steps?
- Treat the room's air supply as untested.
- Ask the solicitor for any flue or ventilation paper.
- Do not describe the boarded fire as an air test.
Costs vary with the building and with who you instruct. Where this page does not cite a published figure, ask the surveyor, a relevant specialist, or your solicitor for a written quote. Do not treat a forum average as the price.
Also asked about this
Does boarding the fire prove the flue is disused?
No. A board shows the opening in this room is closed. It does not show the flue is empty, capped at the top, or still shared with another fireplace. The survey did not trace the flue and did not test air. Disuse would need its own check. The missing vent remains a visual limit, not a flue certificate.
Could a vent have been hidden behind furniture?
It might have been, which is why the survey does not claim the whole room was searched for every grille. What it recorded is that no vent was seen in the board over the fire. That panel was the point of the note. A later look behind furniture would be new access, not a result this report already holds.