Fire place dilemma

[buckingfrolicks]

I'm buying a gorgeous turn of the century arts and crafts house.
It has two fireplaces, both open but unused by current owners. Both have beautiful fire surrounds - art deco style so 'right' for the house.

But the fire places are tiny - wouldn't warm a shrew's toes never mind me - by the look of them, and I really fancy a real fire in at least one of the living rooms.

So my question is:

leave them and just turn up the central heating?
Replace one with a bigger open fire?
Replace one with a wood burner?
Replace both?

I'm a total beginner at this. If I replaced with eg wood burner, how much of an arse ache is that job? Does it go on for months? I'm moving in mid Oct and ideally want any change done asap.

(I'm also having an extension built so will be haunting this section of MN)

Definitely keep them! They sound lovely, and it would be such a waste to rip out something lovely that's been there for nearly a hundred years.

I'd convert them to gas if you can.

Don't convert them! Naff
They will throw out a surprising amount of heat, try before you change a thing !

Keep them and convert to gas. So much easier and cleaner than coal or wood, real flame and warmth (if you sit right by it anyway). Use the central heating for actual heating! If you really fancy a wood burner the extension might be a good place?

Make sure they are safe to use (have chimney checked etc) then light s fire and see how much heat they produce before you decide what to do next.

What knittedfairies said !

Installing a wood burner takes half a day. We have a large three story house, so high chimney and it took several hours as we also had it repointed and they had to erect s tower to get to the top.

They sweep it, which as a pp said you need to have done before you use it anyway, line it, install burner and commission it.

Make sure you use a hetas approved installer as they need to register with building regs for you and you'll need the certificate if you sell on.

However a wood burner needs a certain clearance round it so they may not be big enough, have a quote and the installer will advise.

On an efficiency basis, on an open fire 80 percent of the heat goes up the chimney, with a wood burner, it's thr opposite, 80 percent into the room, 20 percent up the chimney. However they aren't cheap to install, you're looking at a couple of grand on average inc stove.

Outs was 4K, but it's a large stove, and as said, we also got repointing and needed a tower.

But no it's not a faff.

So helpful! Thank you - I hadn't thought of, you know, actually trying them in situ see what a beginner I am?

And it's good to know fitting a stove isn't weeks of work - although I would have to have the fire place widened so imagine that is a faff.

I probably will have to get used to faff though, if i'm having an extension done

Inset wood burners fit into the width of a standard gas fire, I'm having this one fitted - burley.co.uk/product/coppice-9050/. The quote was £2k and it will be fitted in one day.

I have exactly your dilemma. We have a totally beautiful fireplace, but definitely want an open fire/woodburner. But is it sacrilege to rip it out?

We can't have gas, but in our other house we have a gas living flame one. It certainly isn't naff, nearly everyone who sees it believes it is real. It is very warm too. The fire itself was £500.

We had a wood burning stove man to look at our fireplace in the sitting room and give a quote. Including removing the old fireplace, making a new fireplace and lintel, lining, repointing etc we are looking at £5- 6 k.

We haven't got that money sadly. So we are going to get it swept and have the fairy's fire in it for now.

The or he fireplace has an original stove in it, even the wood burning stove man said it would be sacrilege to remove that! So we will keep it as a decorative feature.

Get then swept before you light a fire op.unless you know the previous owners have had it done in the last year.

The last thing you want is a chimney fire,

I'm having the inset stove to preserve the original fireplace, so it can definitely be done.

Skippi, that looks fab! Can I ask did your quote include the lining of the chimney?

Ooooh skippy that is lovely!!

It's not mine, it's from the Burley site. Yes the quote includes sweeping, lining etc. I already have a suitable hearth etc. I'll post a pic once mine is in

We had a wood burner fitted recently. After much research decided against an open fire. Too messy, too inefficient and potentially dangerous!
The job involved removal of gas fire and marble surround, widening of fire opening, making good and lining opening, slate hearth laid, chimney swept and liner installed, chimney stack repointed, insertion of stove, full rptesting, oak mantelpiece inserted, carbon monoxide alarm provided.
Took a day, then returned next day to install mantle once plaster dried.
In total, cost us £2500.
Before and after pics

Keep them, use occasionally and make sure the central heating is in good working order. Sounds like a really lovely house.

Benz, that looks great, exactly what we want. But we have been quoted £6k for the same thing!!!