Is there any good reason why I shouldn't Annie Sloane my hideous gas fire?

[PrincessPilolevuofTONGA]

I've spent three years looking for a way to improve it. Bar removing there are none. We can't afford to remove it

So what if I painted the brown and beige bits? I know you can't polish a turd but it might possibly be a minor improvement?

I have the same hideous fire ! Ours doesn't work
As had boiler behind that was removed and new one put in upstairs. Thinking about getting a screen or radiator cover type thing

Ours still has the boiler so it can't be obstructed :(

I dream of a new boiler

Can't you just pull yours off if it no longer has the boiler?

We always lol at homes under the hammer. The virtually derelict houses always have the same fire. Funnily enough they never seem to retain this most period of features

You will simply end up with a hideous gas fire painted in Annie Sloan paint.

I think it will look worse.

We rent and as removing it isn't essential don't suppose landlord will spend money on getting someone to remove it and we don't want to remove it in case bodge it up as in our tenancy not to do any work on the property, it all has to be done by the handy man.

Yes to a custom radiator cover or a nice screen. A much better idea until you can remove the fire safely.

made to measure radiator covers

I think it will look worse painted.

Have you priced up having it removed? I am not sure what prices are like in Tonga but you might be surprised at how cheap it can be.

Otherwise, radiator cover or a pretty screen.

You can't use a scrreen or cover as it needs to be fully ventilated

If it was removed it would require a whole new boiler, located somewhere else so probably near enough an entire heating system. That'll be in the region of £4/5k

I think I'm going to try it. How bad can it be

It will look quite bad.

What's the rest of the room like?

When do you next have a gas check? I wanted rid of my fire so when the gas man came I asked him if he would condemn it and he did. He came back the next week to cap it off so now just needs pulling off and I'll be sealing it off and filling with logs etc.

It must be close to the end of its life now?

It will look terrible. At least at the minute it has that mid century retro feel. Get a couple of bits of mid century furniture and it will be quite cool. Annie Sloan it and it will be irredeemable.

Ha ha. I know you're all right. But I'm still tempted. I'm thinking just cream....Zinksie, it's pretty bad. It's all quite bad.

It's no good getting it condemned. It's part of the heating system. If it goes, then too must the boiler

Rather than painting it (agree with others it will look bad), why don't you try some kind of sticky backed plastic? You'll get a much cleaner finish and can always remove if it's worse. I think that could look like the heater came in that colour originally, rather than you've tried a paint job.

I had the same one in a previous flat with back boiler. I had a pretty fire screen that stood about a foot in front, so boiler still ventilated but hideous fire hidden. I wouldn't paint it!

I don't get why the boiler has to go just because the gas fire does? I paid £30 to have a similar fire removed and capped. Then in front the space put my own Adams electric fireplace. You could do the same and if you move get the old one put back on and take your own with you. Or am I been totally thick and missing something?

if it is a gas fire with back boiler, yes, the gas fire can be taken off the front. Sometimes they are interchangeable with different styles.

You will need a gas-safe engineer to do it and advise.

If the gas fire is never again going to be used, I can't see why a radiator cover can't go over the hole. It might be best to make one out of plasterboard, which is fireproof, with ventilation slots. The heating engineer can calculate the size of ventilation needed.

A gas back-boiler will be very out of date and inefficient compared to a modern condensing boiler. Note that you are under no obligation to change to a combi, modern efficient boilers are also available as system and conventional boilers. They can be very small. You could probably reduce gas usage by 20% with a modern boiler.

Baxi no longer make replacement gas fires for this range but do do replacement electric fires for some unknown reason which allow you to retain the existing boiler if you want. I wouldnt paint it.

Please don't paint it! It will look worse, honest.

If you still have this gas fire, or if anyone in this group has one, can I have the control knob, or can you let me know what the code is on the knob as I am trying to buy one.
Many thanks

These back boillers are actually very reliable and can go on forever. They are also not always as old as they look. I had one the same as the OPs. I assumed it dated from
the 1980s. However after buying the house I found an invoice in the paperwork that showed it was fitted in 2002.

It was still working fine when I eventually got a new combi boiler fitted elsewhere, so i could get a log burner fitted in the fireplace. The plumber commented that my new combi boiler would probably need replacing before the old back boiler would have done, had I kept it.

Er, is plastic all right attached to a flammable heat source?

Aaaaw, that gas fire has made me all nostalgic for the first place I bought in London in the mid-80s; a one-bedroom flat. It wasn't attached to a boiler, though.

I can't imagine that painting or putting plastic on it would be safe. Doesn't sound right at all.