Electrics and gas
A solid-fuel stove stands close to a timber beam and no clearance was measured. What installation record is missing?
The installation record that is missing is a record of how this solid-fuel stove was installed and commissioned. The stove stands close to a timber beam, and no clearance was measured. The survey has seen the stove and the beam near it. It has not measured the gap, has not produced an installation certificate, and has not decided the distance is adequate. Closeness without a figure is the observation. The paperwork that would show who installed it, and to what standard, is not in the note.
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?
Solid-fuel stoves need clearance from timber so heat does not char the beam over time. The surveyor can see that the stove is close and can say the tape was not used. They should not invent a clearance they did not take, and they should not declare the gap safe or unsafe from a glance. An installation record is a separate paper: who fitted the stove, the flue, and the hearth, and any notice or certificate that went with that work.
Ask a solid-fuel installer to measure the clearance to the beam and to say what installation record should exist for this stove. Tell the solicitor the survey saw the stove close to timber and measured nothing. Do not treat a recent sweep as the missing installation record. Keep flue sweeping and installation papers as different documents. The installation paper is still the record that is missing.
What should you ask your surveyor?
- Which timber beam is close to the solid-fuel stove?
- Why was no clearance measured?
- What installation record was missing from the papers you saw?
What are the typical next steps?
- Ask a solid-fuel installer to measure the clearance to the beam.
- Tell the solicitor no installation record was seen and no clearance was taken.
- Do not treat a sweep's receipt as the missing installation record.
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
If the beam is painted, was a clearance still missing?
Paint on the beam does not create a measurement. The clearance was not taken, whether the timber is painted or bare. The survey recorded a solid-fuel stove close to the beam and stopped there. Paint is not a clearance, and it is not the installation record that is missing.
Does a chimney sweep's receipt replace the installation record?
No. A sweep's receipt shows that someone swept the flue, if that is what it says. It does not record the installation of the stove or the clearance to the timber beam, which was not measured. The missing record is the installation record. A sweep is a different visit.