Any Fireplace experts?

[AudiSport]

Hi All,

We are just in the process of renovating a 1930's house and the fireplace needs some attention! We would both love a real open fire, however the previous owner had the chimney stack removed and it is looking like that will cost £1500 alone to have put back. So we want to keep our options open, maybe put a real fire in place, however just leave it empty for a year or two till we know where we stand..

Heres the ugly one we removed;




Heres how it looks now, my it was heavy;




I notice there is a crack on the back bit;




So, what are our best options? Should we just buy a surround and a basket to sit some decorative wood and candles in, or should we spend our money on a log burner and maybe avoid having to have a new chimney? Our builder has also said he could build us something and have it rendered - I guess this could be an option... Eeek?

[susanq]

I think you need a chimney for a log burner too. But if you make the decision to re-install chimney stack, you can't beat a real fire. Open fires are only 20% efficient with 80% of the heat going up the chimney. Log burners, on the other hand are the opposite.

[XanderH]

Important to bear in mind that chimneys are designed to suck air. If you have an open fire (without doors like a wood burner) it WILL remove heat from your house.