Has anyone installed a built-in wood burning stove?

[audrey01]

DH is very keen to install a built-in wood burning stove (something like this.

We have two children (5 and 7 yrs old) and I am not too sure this is child-friendly, as the outer glass can get very hot, so we need to be extra careful not to touch it when fire is on.

Has anyone installed something like this and thought it was a good idea nevertheless?

PILs have one like this. It's very hot! They don't need to use their gas heating anymore. You would just put a fire guard around the hearth as you would if the fire was open.

At 5 and 7 they would know not to touch it though.

We have one my youngest is 1yro even he knows not to go near it bit I do have a fire guard that extends round the chimney breast for piece of mind.
Tbh the older ones fighting/wrestling would concern me more then the little one with any fire

We put in a Stovax very similar to this, just portrait orientation rather than landscape iyswim. Dc were 4,6 and 10. It gets so hot they would never think of going near it. We moved from that house- stove was a huge selling feature.

We have a traditional box stove that we installed two weeks before DS was born. We had a fire guard around it until DD was 3. As others have said, it gets so hot, they quickly learn not to go near it. The heat off it is great and it saves on the old gas bills.

You should really have a proper nursery guard around any solid fuel stove with kids around. Yeah, they learn to keep a safe distance, but that doesn't help if they trip and put a hand out to catch their fall...

The iron of a stove will give you a nasty burn if you touch it, but the glass is in a league of its own... Skin will melt onto it. Don't take chances.

Have had multi fuel fuel stove put in and a wood burning Rayburn in another room. The brochure says no building work but this is not strictly true i suspect? You must have the chimney lined, i think this is a building regs thing. This means scaffolding and a man on the roof! Also be aware that if house is double glazed, you may be required to install air vents at the base of the external walls to allow airflow into your home, or you are risking poisoning with fumes. We had no idea about this as we just used a builder to put in the stoves. Then british gas came to do wall insulation and refused to do it unless we had air vents installed, even though our external doors are original, drafty cottage doors...
We have a guard on the multi fuel stove in front room to stop 2 yr old falling on it. We tend to keep an eye on him when in kitchen and he will not touch Rayburn when it's lit he knows its hot just to stand next to it. He is never allowed to play in the kitchen, and never goes in there alone if Rayburn lit...hope this helps.
Ps do not need central heating on when both going and we source wood from a local sustainable source, so all good.

any solid fuel stove (or anything gas or oil come to that) does need building regs notification and approval. So it must be installed or checked by a HETAS-registered person (for solid fuel) and notified to your council.

safety and legality. Don't forget you'll need the chimney swept regularly too.

as for the heat - if there are young children you MUST have a guard in front of it whenever it is lit and for hours afterwards. I would keep that guard there until the running about indoors stops, which is a lot later than 3 years old.

Many thanks for all your feedback.
Yes, I agree we will need a fire guard to be on the safe side. As this is a built-in cassette stove, we will not have a hearth though.
In terms of chimney lining and scaffolding needed, we are OK as our house is totally gutted at the moment and scaffolding is up for our loft conversion.
We will have a HETAS registered company to do the work for us, so I guess they will advise what vents we will need.
Didn't know we need to let Building Regulations know about the installation, I will make a point to call them immediately.
So, overall - people are happy with such a stove in terms of heating output, look, functionality, etc.
My DH will be happy to hear both the upsides and downsides of having such a stove - many thanks again!

You can Advise building control OR use a Hetas (or equivalent)registered installer.

you only need a vent if the fire is rated over a certain amount of KWs, i cant remember what it is of the top of my head.

sorry to contradict speacialsubject but you do not need to notify your council when installing a stove or fireplace.

Peggy, you do if you are not using a Hetas registered installer.

I agree about the vent I THINK its 8 kW and above but it's not written in stone.

I was told that I had to apply for a building warrant when I wanted to install a stove. I suspect I spoke to a jobs worth though, because the fireplace person I was dealing with had never come across theis requirement before.

You don't have to have it lined if its already clay lined - we replaced a solid fuel Rayburn with a wood burner recently.