Fireplace question

[user1488290202]

Hi everyone,

I have a quick fireplace question for anyone who might know more about these things than I do!

Have just bought a house that currently has the fireplaces/chimney breasts blocked off in both the living room and master bedroom above.

We have had a quote for the installation of a wood burner in the living room with the associated work on the chimney etc.

I wondered if it would be possible to have a purely decorative cast iron fireplace installed in the bedroom above it? For some reason I can't work out if it would be possible without creating a hole that would let smoke in from the burner below.

Thanks in advance!

Yes, usually your downstairs and upstairs fireplace would be on a seperate chamber within your chimney (I.e. there are dividing walls inside the chimney). Even if these walls have become damaged (likely in an old house), the flue from your woodburner below will contain all smoke and bypass your bedroom. The only downside is that your chimney could suck in some smoke from outside when your fire is on and you'll be able to smell that a bit in the bedroom. But a cast iron inset should have a breast plate/damper plate to close off the air from the chimney.

We had a woodburner installed and they line the flu with a foil tube so doesn't affect any other fireplaces on the same chimney

Thank you so much, really helpful :)

I hope it was a stainless steel flue not foil.

Dunno it looked like foil but it is Hetas verified and cost the price of a kidney so I imagine it's whatever it needs to be!

If you can't stretch to a wood burner, look at getting a biofuel fire in. Loads cheaper by comparison and it burns a byproduct with no fumes, they only give off a tiny amount of water vapour

@cerealchange - would it be possible to ask very roughly how much it cost? We're thinking of doing similar....trying to figure out if I'll be able to afford it and we're not quite at the point of being able to get people in for quotes. Thank you!

We had two put in at once- wood burner and open fire. Both flues lined and new slate in hearth for both. It was £5.5K. Been the best part of our renovation though.

That wasn't including the wood burner or open fire themselves which I bought second hand off ebay but hetas engineer serviced them

@cerealchange- that’s really useful, thank you so much. Actually not as expensive as I feared!!

@StalkedByASpider I've had two quotes this last week for a Woodburner with flue going up existing fireplace/chimney (1900s house). They were £2,600 & £3,200 and both include a 5kw stove and fitting if this helps.

Are you sure you want one, given the focus on them as a huge source of particulates, indoors and out, and the possibility of new legislation?

I keep looking at ours, installed about 20 years ago, now rarely used, and wondering if we should have it removed.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-64261624.amp

Aaah, that's very helpful indeed - thanks @PortiaPorcupine!

That kind of rough price range would be within my budget so feeling quite hopeful now 😊