What to do with hole in fireplace in 30s semi

[happymschicken]

We've just moved into a 30s semi and as our last house (Victorian) had a working fire I was keen to reinstate the fireplace, which at the moment is basically a hole in the wall with no surround.

The average quote is around £2k, which is totally unaffordable as we're doing up the whole house inclding new bathroom and kitchen.

I've been looking around and Homebase et al have some reasonably decent fire surrounds with electric fire, which will do until we can afford to reinstate the original fire but I'm worried it's going to look a bit naff.

Another alternative is to buy a reclaimed fireplace off ebay and get someone to fit it but that's a bit risky as I've no idea what sort of shape and size it should be and then there's all the expense of getting someone to fit it.

Help!

TBH I'd be doing a round of the neighbours to see if anyone still has an original you could take a peek at for clues to size and shape. There's also the vague possibility that someone will have one in their shed or be planning to rip one out in the near future.

Other than that, I'd go reclaimed every time. There may well be a reclamation yard near you which is probably a better bet than ebay...

if you want to have a working solid fuel fire, then you wil need a new fireback unless the old one is stll there and good, and you may need work on the chimney. See if you can find a local chimney sweep, he will probably know who does repairs and refits to chimneys and fireplaces. And if you want to have a gas fire you will probably need the chimney lined or tested. At least if you have it in good, safe, working order, you can wait for a nicer front, without the risk of having a dirty, dusty job later.