Lose the 'working' fireplace? Or keep it?

[merr1goround]

Hello there!

Would it put you off buying a house if there was a chimney stack in the living room and bedrooms but they couldn't be used for a real fire (as they had been taken out fo the loft?)?

I know some people like the fireplace etc, but not many of us actually use it.

It's A 1920s Edwardian type of house, worth about £1.3-1.5m in London (but who knows for how long!).

Yes.

A fire can be a quick and efficient way to heat a room and I like having the option.

I would be less bothered about bedrooms than reception rooms though.

So it can't be used as the chimney has been taken out in the loft?
I don't think it would sway my purchase either way. It's a feature but not a fireplace.

I would hate that.

I'd be annoyed if I bought it and then had to fix the chimney in the loft! We use ours October to march/ April every day

Not at all - I’d prefer it actually as it would prevent heat loss. I suspect open fires will be banned eventually anyway.

Same thing happened to us. We wanted a real fire in the lounge but the chimney has been taken out in the loft. Didn't put us off though. We kept the fireplace and put an Optimyst stove in it. It's more of a decorative feature than a heater (too expensive to run with the heater on) but it makes a nice cosy effect.

I think it depends on whether the mantlepiece is attractive and integral to the look of the room or not.

I ask because I will almost definitely sell within 3 or 5 years, but I'm converting the loft and the chimney stacks up really limit the options for furniture and where to place a bed. In one room up there it make sit difficult to put a double bed in nicely, so I kinda really want to get rid of it! I was thinking of putting in a clueless gas fire in the living room like this:

https://www.cvo.co.uk/collections/flueless-gas-fires

sorry for the typos.

I would keep it as a feature - I love fireplaces. Unless I really needed the extra space.

Easy conversion to wood burner if a fireplace is in situ. You don't need the full chimney (though it's cheaper to do it if it is still there and they can just drop down a liner). We had both the fireplaces in our house converted to recessed wood burners. Fantastic in winter.

I’d keep it as a feature but fires/wood burners shouldn’t be used in London.

Really ? I thought it was just coal that was a no no in London. I think it just needs to be a DEFRA approved wood burner if your in a smokeless zone ?

I would keep it as a feature because lots of people like original features in Victorian/ Edwardian properties so taking it out could devalue your property.

It depends how much space it takes up. I paid to get the remaining chimney breast taken out in my last rental place (with landlords permission, as it took up so much of the tiny living room.

In my current house I love my working fireplace.

'dead' unusable fireplaces and chimney breasts look a bit sad to me, fake and functionless lumps that can take up a lot of floor space.

We did exactly this as we needed the bedroom space. We did have to put a fake chimney stack on the roof outside though.

To start with we just put candles in the grate downstairs. Now looking at getting one of the Chesneys bio-ethanol fires for the handful of nights we actually lit the fire.

I was worried about removing it but people are more interested in our 4th massive bedroom than whether the fire works.

I think it really depends on how much you need the space and what style you are going for. I would be inclined to take the chimney out at least in the bedrooms but perhaps leave in the living room if it makes sense of the space in terms of a focal point (and then yes a gas or other fire makes sense).

1920s is not Edwardian

The example flyeless fire you've given would not suit a period property at all.

What is the current fireplace like, is it original? And as a PP has said, 1920s is not Edwardian so they would have different styles.

Flueless, not flyeless. 🙂

I'd be really pissed off if it didn't have a working fireplace. That to me is the whole point of a period home.

@Housebuyingfamily

Half of the road was built in 1905-ish. the rest in the 1920s and 1930s, but they followed the same style for uniformity, I guess.

I'm going to send a message to my street WhatsApp asking how many of them use their fireplace. I'm surprised so many people do! I did think, however, people might just like the idea of being 'able' to use it in future.

This is probably isn't the best place to ask because the kind of people who will click on your post are the kind who use their fire! We do use our open fire (outside London) but it's not an efficient way to heat without your own wood supply. When I lived in a London Victorian street I can't remember many people still having functioning fireplaces. I wouldn't be bothered if I was looking round a house and it was simply decorative. We're expecting a ban on open fires at some point anyway.