What Do You Need To Know Before Buying A Fire

It's always the way, you try and turn your gas or electric fire on or try and light your stove after not using it since March or early April and the worst happens, it breaks and you need a new one, or you finally decide to take the plunge and invest in a fire for your new house or upgrade old faithful that has been sat on the hearth for the last decade or more.
Most people (including myself before I started this down this career path) have very little idea of the technical complexities that are accociated with purchasing a new gas, electric or solid fuel fire or stove.

So what do you need to know before buying a new fire, stove or fireplace? We have a look at some of the major sticking points or complicated details.

Do I Want Gas, Solid Fuel, Electric Or Bio-Ethanol?
This is probably the most important decision as it effects everything from then onwards, electric fires and suites are becoming increasingly popular as they can be placed anywhere with a standard 13amp plug socket and the flame effects are getting increasinly realistic.
Also becoming increasing popular is people returning to solid fuel or wood burning stoves. This follows on from increasing pressure in the media to reduce carbon footprint, as burning wood from a sustainable source is carbon neutral.



What Type Of Flue or Chimney Do I Have?

As gas fires in particular are designed for varying types of flue or chimney and depending on what type you have can greatly reduce the options available. Flueless, Balanced Flue and Powered Flue appliances are suitable for most modern houses that are built without a chimney, where as some properties may come with a prefabricated or precast flue and most older properties tend ot have an open brick chimney.
More detailed is usually readily available on most Fireplace websites such as Fireplace Megastore, Fireplace Supermarket Or Fireworld.

Hole In The Wall Or In A Surround?

This is mainly down to personal preference as gas, solid fuel and electric fires are all available in these styles. Whether you want to purchase a hang on the wall balanced flue fire such as the Verine Marcello or a unique hang on the wall electric such as the Apex Inception. Likewise if a surround and fire is more appealing you could opt for a fire and surround such as the Drugasar Cara Suite or the Europa Sofia Gas Suite.

Who Do I Geed To Fit It?
Depending on what you've purchased obviously depends on who is needed to fit it. Gas Fires will need to be fitted by a Gas Safe Registered installer, and likewise a solid fuel or woodburning stove would need to be installed by a HETAS engineer. When it comes to surrounds and electric fires, most companies will recommend the surround is fitted by a qualified installer to ensure the perfect finish is achieved. But when it comes down to electric fires, a majority of them come with a standard 13amp plug as standard and simply require plugging in to work.

How Not To Install A Wood Burning Stove

Just a quick video to show the difference it can make using experienced, recommended fitters to install your wood burning stove.

The client had seen the work we had carried out in their next door neighbours house and wanted the same in theirs. They had their builder carry out the work to the fireplace and were going to give us a call regarding installation of the stove. They had other workmen in the house at the time who said they could arrange for the stove to be fitted as they had a friend who fitted them. The client assumed that all fitters would install his appliance to the same standard but soon found this not to be the case.

We were called out to tidy up the installation as the client was not happy with how it had been left........we did this and it was a good job he called us in as the register plate had been made from flammable material and also the stainless flexi liner was installed upside down.....this doesn't sound like a big deal bit it will take your liners life expectancy from 20 years down to a possible 5 due to condensation getting between the two skins causing the liner to corrode prematurely.

In the end the client was delighted but unfortunately had to pay for the installation twice. He had no comeback on the installer as he was a friend of a friend and didn't want to cause upset.............the installer also wasn't HETAS Registered so there was no paperwork or notification given to building control. This would be mostly likely to render his home insurance invalid should he have had a fire caused by the stove.

Will my fire fit? Flat wall, chimneys and fireplace rebate explained

What is a Fireplace Surround Rebate?

Understanding the fireplace rebate you require is central to ensuring your fireplace will fit your required application.

Essentially all you need to work out is the depth needed to fully recess you fire against your flat wall or in your chimney recess.

If the fireplace is being fitted against a flat wall then the full depth of the fire needs to be recessed within the fire surround. However, if the fire surround is being fitted against a chimney then the depth of the fire can be recessed within the cavity of the chimney.

Rebate Explained:

The rebate is the distance from the back of the wall to the front of the panel. To work out the fire recess, you subtract the rebate by 20mm to accommodate the thickness of the panel. Hence 100mm rebate gives you 80mm fire recess depth (100mm -20mm for the back panel).

The below video helps explain everything with images and certainly should you get your head around what a Fireplace Rebate Is.

Not for DIY

Undertaking home improvements without the input of a professional can help save money, but it can also result in a poor quality finish and be more costly when involving complicated work.

Installations of features such as a fireplace or stove are better left to professional tradesmen as their expertise will not only guarantee safety for users, but also minimise the need for remedial work due to poor execution.

DIY has long been associated with men, but Britain's women are against their partners meddling, with 61 per cent admitting in a poll that they would rather call in a professional than have them doing the work.

According to the study by MyHammer, nearly half of the women questioned dread their partner doing any DIY, while 58 per cent said they could only rely on them for the very basic tasks.

MyHammer's Gerrit Mueller said: "If you are not terribly skilled it can be more cost effective to pay for work to be done to be sure of a professional job and save money in the long run.

Stylish gas fireplaces can be obtained from specialist online retailers, some of whom may provide professional fitters.

Checking your gas man's credentials

By Susannah Streeter, Business reporter, BBC News

The cost of fixing botched work done by illegal gas fitters is costing customers up to £100m a year, according to the Gas Safe Register.

It said 250,000 illegal jobs were carried out annually and one in five of those inspected are found to be immediately dangerous.

The register replaced the Corgi registration scheme in April 2009.

It is urging customers to check that recommended engineers have the right qualifications.

50% carbon monoxide

Jan Collins from Cheshire tried to save money when she hired a fitter to install a gas fire in the dining room of her converted barn.

He worked for a registered gas engineering company, but he was doing the job for them on the side, more cheaply.

However, he was not qualified to put in a liquid petroleum gas (LPG) fire and installed it incorrectly.

''I started getting very bad headaches and very bad nosebleeds and was really quite lethargic," Mrs Collins said.

"The chimney sweep was the first to alarm me when he did a test showing that 50% of the carbon monoxide was coming back into the room.

"The only thing that saved me was the size of the room. If it had been a standard room with an eight-foot ceiling and a door then I absolutely would not be alive today.''

A gas inspector confirmed the fire had five major defects, all of which were potentially fatal.

Mrs Collins's fitter was eventually prosecuted.

Check in advance

It is a legal requirement for gas engineering businesses and individual fitters to be on the register.

About 120,000 engineers are on it and a sample of their work is assessed to make sure they are safe.

The register also has a record of which appliances each fitter is qualified to work on.

''What we want people to do is take a little bit of care and check they are using a registered person," said Paul Johnstone, chief executive of the Gas Safe Register.

"Ask for ID at the door and even before they arrive it is very simple to check they have the right qualifications by going onto our website or phoning us.

Getting a quote

There are warnings that even registered gas fitters may not always offer the best level of service.

Which? says it has been contacted by people who have used gas engineers but who have had continuing problems for years before they have been identified and corrected.

''Being on the Gas Safe register is no guarantee in terms of cost effectiveness, although it may be good in terms of competency," said Matt Bath, a Which? spokesman.

"To make sure you are getting the best possible deal and are not locked into an unnecessary contract the best thing to do is to get three good quotes from qualified fitters.

"Each quote should show a clear breakdown of what the engineer will deliver as part of the service,'' Mr Bath added.

'Putting it right'

Jan Collins still regrets not making the right checks on the engineer she hired to do her gas work.

She wasted thousands of pounds, but could also have lost her life.

Paul Johnstone of Gas Safe register said that 18 people died last year after gas appliances were installed or repaired badly, adding: "That's 18 deaths too many'.

"The cost of fixing botched jobs has also soared," he added.

"Customers may spend thousands of fitting appliances and when they've been fitted incorrectly, it costs on average an extra 25% on top of the initial cost to put it right,'' he added.