Wood burning stove removal

[MummysGlassesAreNotAToy]

Hi all

A bit clueless here so hoping for some advice!

We bought a house a few years ago with a wood burning stove in the living room. Have only used it a handful of times and now with a toddler running around it's a bit of a menace.

We want to remove it and the hearth, fill in the hole and then mount the tv on the chimney breast (to keep it out of reach of those little toddler hands!).

What kind of trader am I looking for for this? I'm not coming up with much on google (people only seem to want to put them in!). I'm guessing the chimney will need capping or something as part of the removal?

Any help appreciated!

Gosh, you sound pretty sure you want it done, but are you sure? You can get fantastic fireguard. It will have cost thousands to put in!

Anyhow, a stove fitter will take it out for you. S/he will be able to sell the stove etc.

Can’t you just leave it where it is and board up the opening? Not sure I would go to the trouble of filling it all in, you might decide you want it in future when the kids are older.

Personally I'd get a fire guard, you might regret it when the kids are grown up (& it happens in a flash can't believe mine are nearly teens)...like pp said they cost thousands to put in.

I can assure you that a wood burning stove will really help sell your house once you decide to. I’ve had one in two different houses for ten years. When I was house hunting I was more likely to want to put an offer in if the stove was already in situ knowing that would save me around £ 3-4,000

I wouldn’t remove it either. It isn’t a menace when it isn’t on.
Personally I don’t like TVs that high either, would keep it in the alcove, assuming that is where it is now!

We have our tv mounted on the chimney breast above the stove. You wouldn't have to have It removed for that.

@Quarepants, you have the TV on the chimney breast above your stove? I asked DH to do that with ours, but he said the heat wouldn't be good for the TV. Also, does the viewing height bother you at all? I would like ours mounted on the chimney breast instead of in the alcove where I can't see a sliver of the side of the screen, probably an inch or two due to the alcove depth and it bothers me hugely from where I usually sit, I feel that he has a better view and am jealous

You can mount it above, it needs to have a certain amount of clearance.

I'd put a fire guard up, your kids won't be toddlers for long. And it is a huge selling point and feature for your house.

@Bluntness100, thanks for that I may nag tell him later...

We got rid of all kinds of stuff when DD started walking. I wish I realised the clonk everything with her head phase only lasted a couple of months. They learn pretty quickly. You can teach them not to touch things.
I wouldn't rearrange your whole house to make things out of reach, it's simply not possible to move everything out of the way and even then, they can throw things! They just need to be taught how to behave.

Sounds like a real shame to take it out, just don’t use it for now! As PP have said they are generally a selling point and cost £££ to put in. Surely it adds a bit of character and focal point to the other than just a big telly. Just don’t use it until they’re in bed or not at all if you don’t want to. I think you’d be bonkers to do this.

My stove I could literally pull it out and store it elsewhere. I am pretty sure I have seen sweep do that, anyway.

You could ring a chimney sweep to ask them to look at it & give you an opinion. Costs only like £40 to get chimney swept which might be good idea to get done, anyway. The major costs is getting the linings & chimney top all up to reg, & you wouldn't need to undo those things.

Some kind of temporary plaster in the residual chimney hole, and maybe a basket of safe pretty things left in place of the stove itself (?)

The stove bit is freestanding, usually, so can just remove it. I would maybe take it out and sell it but definitely don't fill in the hole etc. If it's been properly installed, it'll have a flue, etc and these cost a lot to install so blocking it will lose you a shedload of value.

If you board it up without ventilation, you'll end up with damp problems. Plus it always looks weird...but it's your house and you live there, so do what's best for you, unless you are thinking of moving.

I wouldn’t remove it. We have a wood burner and a toddler and a baby. We haven’t used it much recently as we just haven’t had the time to start a fire and sit around enjoying it!
But my toddler knows not to get too close. Just teach them that it’s hot. Same with the oven in the kitchen- he won’t get too close as he knows it’s hot and to stand back when I open it.

Mines not freestanding it's attached to the flue. Surely all are?

Mine, the bottom part of flu can be detached when required. I only know coz the sweep gets better access that way.

I guess all are rhe same in terms of bottom part of flue being detachable.

You could just remove the stove from the flue.

No toddler should ever be near an unguarded wood burner when it’s on! If they tumble over into it - it’s a horror story! Guard it!

If their use is restricted in future, as has been mooted, because of pollution they may become less popular and they do require timber to be cut down to feed them!

Thanks all. Lots to consider. The hearth is made up of very large flagstones and protrudes quite far into the room, and the TV can't go in the alcove as the chimney breast is quite wide and the alcoves a little smaller. Just a slightly awkward room layout considering the wood burner has been used maybe 3 times since we moved in (and that was pre-baby!). Thanks for all the advice!

You can just change the hearth? You can still put the tv on the chimney breast.

It's one of those changes where future owners sit back and say, I can't believe they did that.

Oh don't get rid of your stove! They are the best things ever and I'd much rather the focus of my living room was a lovely cosy stove rather than a big ugly tv.

I've got a stove (can you tell ) and as a LP managed two toddlers and a lit stove with no issues. As a PP said it would have cost thousands to put in and should you ever sell your house prospective buyers are likely to think 'oh all the character has been ripped out of this room, I wonder how much to put a hearth in'.

I’d definitely leave it if it’s not your forever home.
Just don’t use it.

We are getting rid of our wood burner as we actually worked out how much it cost us to run last year we are replacing it with a gas stove and our plumber is doing it.

Is the stove in a fireplace (with flue going up the inside of the chimney)? Or is it stand alone with a pipe running up to the roof? If it’s the first, the tv can still go on the chimney breast. This is what my sister has done.
The hearth has to jut out a certain distance from the burner. Maybe a smaller burner would help? The burner itself is the cheapest part, the flue liner costs about the same as the burner (depending on the height of the roof) and the installation is expensive too (especially if scaffolding was required to install it).

I’m amazed you don’t light it! Ours has been lit every day since November. We’ve got a good fire guard (from mothercare) which we leave up all year round, so that even in the summer when it’s never lit we keep up with the idea that you never touch the fire, and crack on.