Gas fireplace in purchasing house

[raspberrylimoncello]

Hi there
Hoping you might be able to help. :-)
We are in the process of buying a house, it was built in the late 90s and generally needs modernising. In the living room there is a gas powered fireplace with a taupe marble surround. I had intended to upcycle the surround with some fireplace paint and tile the back.

I am just thinking is there any questions we need to be asking our solicitors to ask re the fire? We had a gas boiler certificate but no mention of the fire or the chimney and looking at the way they've set the room up I don't think they use the fire (they've popped a vase and faux flowers in front of the fire)
Do chimneys need regular sweeping and gas fires servicing? If so, should we request this is done prior to exchange?

Many thanks

There was one in our sitting room when we moved in. It didn't work, so I had it serviced. It had been badly installed, parts were no longer available and it wasn't safe.

We scrapped it, had the chimney lined and installed a log burner.

If you keep it, get a carbon monoxide alarm.

You just need to check no detritus has fallen down and blocked the flue. If your brickwork, chimney etc is fine then that won’t be a problem. Our chimney flue didn’t have enough space at the bottom in case that happened, so they deepened it. But we knew it hadn’t been dangerous until then because brickwork and chimney kept in good order. It was a regulations thing, so they had to do it to fit new fire.

@GreyishDays I guess my issue is more that if it is serviced and found not to be working when we own it, we will have to foot the bill for repair and replacement. We would like to know this ahead of completing on the sale.

I'd say it depends whether you think you are getting a good deal generally with the house. It's an investment of 1000s so if it's a good deal it's not worth risking over a possible few hundred for a new fire.

Yeah I appreciate that it should be working, but to reassure you that if you can’t get proof that it is, it’s a few £hundreds to replace. It probably does work, or could be easily fixed, given that it’s not that old.

Get them to have the fire serviced/get a safety certificate for it.

Regarding chimneys, depends on the fire design I guess, but yes the chimneys can get blocked up by birds nests and then the fumes can't escape. That happened at my mum and dads house. They were advised to get it swept every 5 years

Sorry to highjack, Can I ask @DespairingHomeowner how much it cost to have a gas fire removed? I’ve just had an offer accepted on a 1930s place with one that’s hideous and I would prefer just to have the surround for flowers/electric candles - think the room would heat alright as has 2 radiators.

Also following with interest re: safety check - though I thought this would happen when you get the boiler checked? Ours has a back boiler so we offered with £3-5k to redo the heating before we move from our rental in mind anyway - though never realised we could need the kitchen ripped out. I like the kitchen!