Fireplace/Chimney advice

[Burgo99]

Hi
We have had several companies and individuals round to see if we can widen our fireplace but had some conflicting data.

We have an external chimney measuring 1150mm across. It's a 1965 property with cavity wall. The internal fireplace width is approx. 550mm. We need to get to 650mm to install our stove with enough space around sides.

I've been told we can only work with the gap we have to yes you can remove the internal walls of chimney and support with lintels.

But I'm also hearing this will cause cold spots.
Could adding a fire fibre board with brick slips stop this ??.

Completely at a loss.

Obvious question but have you looked at the very narrow stoves that are on the market - often designed for boats. The difference in the heat they give out vs. larger stoves will be negligible.

Really wanted to stick with the stove we have chosen as had great reviews from friends and family who own them.

Restructuring a chimney to fit a specific stove is a little unusual. It is a bit like changing a doorway to fit a specific door. Why not choose a stove that fits the space you have.

Clearview pioneer

It really depends if the base of the fireplace is structural or not. It appears to be holding up the chimney above and it seems you need a lintel. That’s quite a lot of work. And mess! I just would not bother. Most wood burners are similar and you would save a lot of agro if you buy a smaller one. There are so many excellent ones available and getting hung up on one seems odd. Also fire places can be made of ultra hard fire bricks. They may need drilling out. Joy!

No idea what cold spots are! A fire produces heat and that’s that really. You need to make sure the chimney flue is suitably prepared for the wood burner too.

I'm not doing myself but using specialists. Just a shame they all saying different things to me. The cold spots was because I would be turning a cavity wall into a single skin wall as the chimney is an external chimney on external wall. They reckon the wall will be colder than normal (until the stove is on).
Sticking with one model as it has been recommended by a number if people. Not going to use one that I has not been recommended through ownership.

Sometimes the lintel for the fireplace is a way above the actual opening and you can widen/broaden the gap. You can definitely put a lintel in if need be - it is more expensive but not a huge cost, but it is enormously messy. For either of these options, you will need to expect a living room with a lot of rubble and dust as bricks get knocked out, and replastering/decorating of the affected area (which effectively means redecoration of the whole room).

Not sure I understand the big about cold spots - the stove is boarded in at the top of the fireplace "hole" around the flue. Your whole chimney breast will get warm when the stove is on!

There's loads of different stoves. I'd do some Googling and look for a different one

. www.stovefittersmanual.co.uk/articles/clearview-pioneer-400-buy-one

Well I own a Morso Squirrel (by appointment to the Royal Danish Court no less!) and at 388 cm wide, it is 12 cm narrower than the Clearview Pioneer. It's a very similar style stove, same output and I have nothing but praise for it.

There's a recommendation for you!

Can you put a photo up of your existing hearth and fireplace please

I cant seem to get a photo on here.

thank you CrabAppleCake

how are you getting on with this? A couple of things that might work

extend the hearth & bring the stove forward into the room; ours isn't fully inside the opening and I prefer it that way as I can get a kettle on etc

increase the opening, insert lintel and build a false external chimney on outside wall so that this provides another layer , eliminating any coldspots

see pic attached- this one has a twin wall flue going out of the top but you won't need tot do this as you already have a chimney

This is what I currently have.
Looking like we go for a smaller stove or bring into room a bit.

We’ve done this. I’ve posted before and after pics. It was a lot of work and did cost quite a bit but that was because we had the granite fireplace rebuilt. They had to take out an old back burner and widen the gap to get the stove in. A new lintel had to be fitted to widen the gap and take the weight of the wall above. We also chose to have the chimney lined rather than risk any issues although the chimney liners were ok apparently. We purchased a full width 600mm stove but it’s reduced depth as there wasn’t a huge amount of room in the fireplace. Really pleased with the results though

No cold spots either - ours had to be widened quite a bit.

I'd put down a lovely hearth and bring the stove further forward. No need for it to be right in the fireplace. It will save a lot of time, money and mess

Hi I cannot go wider without widening the chimney outside the house which is going to be expensive.
I was contemplating bringing stove into room but have been advised against connecting at rear of stove as no access for chimney sweep. If I connect to top I have to make sure I have the height for the bends. Currently height is 730 but I'm hoping to increase this with removing a coarse of bricks above that are on their ends and fitting a lintel.

Did you build your own chimney ?.
Just wondering what it might cost to support internal wall with lintels to give me the extra width then construct an external coarse of bricks up to a height to compensate for the inner wall removal similar to your pic.

Burgo I would advise you visit www.thegreenlivingforum.net/forum/viewforum.php?f=21

as the members have been brilliant at offering me advice over the years. Everyone is either an experienced stove owner and/or Hetas engineer . Poster called Kelvin really does know his stuff and should be able to help