What would you do with this fireplace?

[TranquilityofSolitude]

I am desperate to do something with this fireplace, mostly because it's horrid but also because I want to change the carpet and almost certainly wouldn't want the same footprint for the hearth etc.

The fire is gas but we don't have a chimney. Some of the houses around us have metal chimneys - are these for log burners? I don't know much about what is possible and would love some ideas.

It's in a fairly large room - about 5m x 5m.

TIA

Metal chimneys are for log burners. Entirely possible to replace it with one depending what wall it's on in the house. If it's on an outside wall it should be quite straightforward.

Thank you.

Yes, sorry, I should have said that it is on an outside wall.

A log burner would be lovely but there is no alcove to put it in - would it look weird being out in the room?

we had similar and we put in a log burner.
So it needs to be on an outside wall, and the metal chimney at the back goes out through the wall and then up the outside wall..

We replaced hearth with a slab of slate. Don;t buy from fireplace shop (£600) buy a giant slate paving slab from a garden centre/builders merchant (£25)
We also removed the mantle piece too, and had plain walls.

It looks, fab, we love having it on in the winter, and it is much better than boring gas fire.

Main disadvantage is that it takes up more space.

Thanks, steppemum. That's good to hear. Especially about the slate - that's a great tip!

go and look at a log burner salesroom, and get some brochures. there are loads out they, many designed to stand alone. Only issue I would have is if you have small dc, you will need a guard round a free standing one.
BUT they are not cheap, and the chimney is not cheap. reckon on 2,000 minimum installation, plus cost of burner.

we run ours all on recycled wood, so my dh picks up pallets and cut down trees from people on FB etc and we have a big wood store in the garden. We have never bought wood. But wood needs to be well seasoned. So when my parents cut down 2 trees, we took them, but they are sitting under are tarp in our garden slowly seasoning (2 years).
You can't use pine, and you mustn't use anything treated or painted. In many areas there are limits on what you can burn, so you need to have access to well seasoned wood

I have slate too. I love it. Slab of slate is a good idea but there are building regulations regarding the size they should be (we have open fires & chimneys - probably different to stove regulations but worth checking before you start)

You could try painting the wooden surround. We weren't crazy about one in our house but much better once painted. And loads cheaper.

Our surround is not too different to yours. Now in a matte white finish. I probably wouldn't have chosen it if buying new but I quite like it these days.

A Woodburner in front of plain wall is really popular where I am from. Alternatively you could build an alcove for it if you wanted one. It's fairly easy to do.

Oh yes regs are very strict about size of slate, it is surprisingly large in front of the burner, so that the door can be fully open and over the slate.

You can put a woodburner anywhere, it's just a matter of expense (and mess) if you need to fit a flue internally and then out through the roof.
As your fire is on an external wall it would be easy to have a stove fitted. Ours is freestanding as we took out the original fireplace and chimney and put the stove in a better position. It sits on a stone hearth. The chimney is internal, up through a bedroom, and is boxed in with fireproof boarding.
Any good stove shop would be able to advise you, and will either have, or be able to recommend an experienced HETAS installer.
It won't be cheap though.

If you go down the stove route it would be worth looking for a DEFRA approved burner as legislation is likely to become tighter on air pollution (particularly in urban areas)

Thank you. This is all really helpful. My reservation about a woodburner in front of the wall is what it would look like without a mantlepiece. I have a lot of clutter ornaments on there at the moment and I'm quite fond of them. I also like to decorate it at Christmas.

We had a log burner fitted last year. We built our own ‘chimney breast’ and fixed an oak beam above for the mantelpiece. Its my favourite thing in our house!

At our old house the woodburner (ours was a multi fuel one) was against a bare redbrick wall and the metal pipe went straight up through the roof. We didn't have a mantle piece.

Put a chunky oak beam on the top of the wood burner as a mantle piece it looks lovely

Totally different angle but what about a contemporary inset wall mounted gas fire. We’re just in the process of ripping out night storage heaters and stone clad fireplace , having gas central heating installed and have decided to go a bit more modern. (House is 30 years old) . Having always lived in old farmhouses and cottages I’m looking forward to not having the work or mess from wood burners. That said it depends on the age of your property and real fires are very cosy in the winter.