Will a stove work in my living room?
QI’d like to open up my disused fireplace and have a woodburning stove installed in the hearth. How can I tell if the existing fireplace is suitable?
AIf you want to bring a redundant fireplace back into use, there are certain things you’ll need to do. When a fireplace has been closed off, it’s usually a fairly simple job to remove the block or brickwork infill to reveal the original brickwork of the chimney breast. If the steel fireback hasn’t been removed from the back wall, this should be taken out to leave a clean, open space. The chimney must then be swept clean. A woodburning, or multi-fuel stove
requires a flexible flue liner for the safe extraction of dangerous gasses and to maintain a constant pressure for maximum efficiency. This liner is fed down through the chimney pot to the fireplace and sealed off.
If you don’t already have one, a non-combustible hearth should be installed. They are usually made from sandstone, slate, granite or marble, and normally extend slightly outside the breast into the room. The installation must be completed by
specialists, and can be overseen and approved by your local authority building regulations officer. The price for installation will start at roughly £1,200, excluding the cost of the stove and liner.
Opening up a fireplace is also a great opportunity to overhaul the chimney stack and check the roof. If a scaffold is required, consider carrying out a full maintenance job on the exterior of your property while it’s in place!