FireplaceSupermarket.com receives prestigious accreditation

Fireplace Supermarket started in 1997, as one of the main suppliers to Builders and Design Clients all over the UK. They wanted to provide the cheapest fires, fireplaces and stoves to the whole of the UK, so everyone can have a warm and stylish home. We believe FireplaceSupermarket.com has their hearts in the right place so we are now accepting them onto our database of authorised bloggers, as staff at Fireplacesupermarket.com go through vigorous training schedules in both technical aspects of fire and stone as well as design structures.

Laura Ashley Fireplaces

With the help of Katell Fireplaces, Laura Ashley has now produced a complete range of Fires and Fireplaces, to match there world renowned Laura Ashley designs. These fireplaces are fast becoming one of the most popular names in Modern home design. Have a look if any of the above designs catch your eye, no doubt there will be several.

All now available direct from the UK's Best showroomFireplace Megastore, Chester

• Laura Ashley Acacia Electric Fireplace Suite
  Laura Ashley Acacia electric fireplace suite available in 2 finishes, Natural Oak and Chestnut. 1 size only. Features a matching inset electric fire
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• Laura Ashley Azalea Electric Fireplace Suite
  Laura Ashley Azalea electric fireplace suite available in 2 finishes, Natural Oak and Chestnut. 1 size only. Features a matching inset electric fire
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• Laura Ashley Camellia Stone Fireplace Surround
  Laura Ashley Camellia Stone Fireplace Surround is a traditional fire surround available in Portugese Limestone or Mocha Beige Marble, 51" Shelf, Suitable for use with most gas and electric fires.
• Laura Ashley Fuchsia Fireplace Surround
  Laura Ashley Fuchsia Fireplace Surround is a modern fire surround available in Antiqued Ivory Finish, available in 1 size and Suitable for use with most gas and electric fires.
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• Laura Ashley Hampton Electric Fire
  Laura Ashley Hampton electric fire is a 1.5Kw inset electric fire in brass and black or chrome and brushed steel effect finish, thermostatic control, coal fuel effect, manual & remote control

• Laura Ashley Hampton Gas Fire
  Laura Ashley Hampton Gas Fire is a modern gas fire, coal or pebble fuel effect, manual control, Brass or Chrome finish, suitable for class 1 & 2 prefabricated flues with a maximum heat output of 4Kw, natural gas
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• Laura Ashley Hampton High Efficiency Gas Fire
  Laura Ashley Hampton HE is a stylish gas fire with coal or pebble, choice of finishes, suitable for class 1 and 2 chimneys, prefabricated** & precast flues* with a maximum heat output of 4.4Kw and high efficiency rating of 89%
• Laura Ashley Hyacinth Fireplace Wood Surround
  Laura Ashley Hyacinth Fireplace is a modern fire surround available in 2 finishes, 1 size only, suitable for use with most gas & electric fires.

• Laura Ashley Iris Wood Fireplace Surround
  Laura Ashley Iris Wood Fireplace Surround is a modern fire surround available in 4 different finishes, 52" Top shelf, Suitable for use with most gas and electric fires.

• Laura Ashley Jasmine Fireplace
• Laura Ashley Jasmine Fireplace is a modern fire surround available in Natural Oak or Chestnut, 1 size only, suitable for use with most gas & electric fires.

• Laura Ashley Lily Fireplace
  Laura Ashley Lily Fireplace is a modern fire surround available in 2 finishes, 1 size only, suitable for use with most gas & electric fires.

• Laura Ashley Lotus Mirrored Hang on the Wall Electric Fire
  Laura Ashley Lotus Mirrored Hang on the Wall Electric Fire for stylish room with a space saving off the floor design

• Laura Ashley Lucerne Electric Fireplace Suite
  Laura Ashley Lucerne electric fireplace suite available in 2 finishes, Natural Oak and Chestnut. 1 size only. Features a matching electric fire

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• Laura Ashley Malvern Electric Fire Laura Ashley Malvern electric fire is a 1.5Kw inset electric fire in brass and black or chrome and brushed steel effect finish, thermostatic control, coal fuel effect, manual & remote control

• Laura Ashley Malvern Gas Fire
  Laura Ashley Malvern Gas Fire is a modern gas fire, coal or pebble fuel effect, manual control, brass or chrome finish, suitable for class 1 & 2 prefabricated flues with a maximum heat output of 4Kw, natural gas

• Laura Ashley Malvern High Efficiency Gas Fire
  Laura Ashley Malvern HE is a stylish gas fire with coal or pebble, choice of finishes, suitable for class 1 and 2 chimneys, prefabricated** & precast flues* with a maximum heat output of 4.4Kw and high efficiency rating of 89%
• Laura Ashley Mulberry Wood Fireplace Surround
  Laura Ashley Mulberry Wood Fireplace Surround is a modern fire surround available in Portugese Limestone or Mocha Beige Marble, available in 1 size, Suitable for use with most gas and electric fires.

• Laura Ashley Orchid Electric Fireplace Suite
  Laura Ashley Orchid Electric Fireplace Suite, Antique Ivory finish. A choice of back panels effects, black Granite or Antique Ivory. A choice of hearths effects, black Granite or Antique Ivory

• Laura Ashley Primrose Wooden Surround
  Laura Ashley Wooden Surround is a modern fire surround available in 2 finishes, 1 size only, suitable for use with most gas & electric fires with an adjustable 24 / 76mm rebate
• Laura Ashley Tatton Electric Fire
  Laura Ashley Tatton Electric Fire is a 1.5Kw inset electric fire in brass and black or chrome and brushed steel effect finish, thermostatic control, coal fuel effect, manual & remote control
• Laura Ashley Tatton Gas Fire
  Laura Ashley Tatton Gas Fire is a modern gas fire, coal or pebble fuel effect, manual control, brass or chrome finish, suitable for class 1 & 2 prefabricated flues with a maximum heat output of 4Kw, natural gas
• Laura Ashley Tatton HE Gas Fire
  Laura Ashley Tatton HE is a stylish gas fire with coal or pebble, choice of finishes, suitable for class 1 and 2 chimneys, prefabricated** & precast flues* with a maximum heat output of 4.4Kw and high efficiency rating of 89%
• Laura Ashley Wisteria Stone Surround
  Laura Ashley Wisteria Micro Marble Fireplace Surround is a modern fire surround in Mocha beige marble or Portuguese marble effect, available in 1 size, Suitable for use with most gas & electric fires

Gallery Fireplaces

If you’re thinking of buying a new fire or heat supply for your home, have you considered an open fire or cast iron stove?

Often when thinking of stoves or fire baskets it conjures up thoughts of old fashioned fireplaces, located in a farm house or maybe a cottage, with drafts from fires burning with bad efficiency, well, the gallery collection from gallery fires will surely alter this picture, at least it has altered it for me.

On a visit to a showroom the gallery collection was shown to me, and also a brochure given, this is a collection of modern stoves, baskets- modern and traditional, mantels and accessories. These products are to be used with electric, gas or multi fuels, however if a product is stated that it is a wood burner, then it should be used for burning wood, and the correct wood as this is what they are designed for, the burning of other fuels may cause you serious problems which could result in serious expense, something nobody wants.

A stove, generally, seems to be of cast iron construction, sturdy and authentic. These are very fuel efficient, mainly due to the fact that they have doors, or windows on the front of them, which when closed prevent drafts, because the heat that goes up the Chimney creates drafts. However, with the doors being closed, it keeps the air flow from venting the whole room. How the airflow on a stove works is via an intake and in modern stoves they may have more than one. These intakes let the air into the stove to supply the fire with oxygen, these intakes within the stove, create airflow. The primary intake and air flow usually comes from underneath the fire. If you had a coal fire, for example, you would want the coal to receive oxygen from underneath for an effective and hot fire. Usually at the front of the stove towards the bottom there will be some means of controlling the amount of airflow, some knobs to turn or a slot to slide, these are vital for achieving a high efficiency for your fire, or for making a really roaring fire either way, most important.

Another type of air intake, which creates air flow within the stove, is secondary. The controls, and usually the openings for this intake are found most commonly at the top front of the stoves. This directs the oxygen to the top of the fuel in the stove; this encourages the fuel to be burnt from the top, which in the case of log burners can make the fuel burn more efficiently and effectively. Another type of air flow is tertiary, now my understanding of this is limited, so bare with this description. With tertiary air flow the used fumes of the fire, which have combustion capabilities, are recycled around the stove and reintroduced to the flames to burn more effectively and thus more efficiently as the potential heat is not just lost up through the chimney. Clever stuff, and not the sort of technology found in the old multi fuel burners back in the day, which is probably where my interest in these stoves comes from, memories of early mornings waiting for the fire to get going to in turn get the radiators warmed up before the day could begin.

Similarly, like in the old days, these stoves can be used to heat up your radiators, and hot water, working in tune with your existing heating supply. Not being an expert on this, my thinking is that this too makes a stove more efficient, because it will be using its heat output more effectively. Apparently the heat can also be used to warm a swimming pool, but having no famous football friends this can’t be confirmed!

When viewing these stoves at a local showroom the gadget or tool which most interesting was the riddling systems. What these entail of is a moveable piece located near the front of the either a knob for turning or pulling. When being operated, they shake or move the surface underneath the fuel source, helping to remove the used embers or cinders. Some of these systems, although basic, are quite ingenious, and a great addition to a stove. Underneath the fire there should be an ash pan, and this will help to collect the ash, from this hopefully an optimum fire can be maintained.

With reference to the ash pan, this is what is considered to be a major down point to an open fire or stove. The cleaning, no matter how many ingenious additions to a stove or fire grate, you still have to get down and dirty and clean. However this is obvious to anyone who has had an open fire of some kind, the novelty factor can soon wear thin when regular cleaning is needed. Yet, as a child it was one of my chores to do this, and though not a good reason to have children, if you can delegate this responsibility elsewhere, all the better.

To negate the cleaning aspect, there are gas and electric versions available for fires needing less cleaning, they use coal or wood effect fuels. These are lovely effects and seem to have all the benefits of the more traditional stoves and open fires. This should make it a win, win scenario, but for me an imitation fuel beds starts to loose the nostalgic and rustic appeal of an open fire or a cast iron stove. My view is that stoves, for me, were not an option, assuming they were no longer available, but they are, and they are suitable for the more modern homes too, after all you shouldn’t be buying this item for your home on a regular basis, and make sure you get the right finish to your room. It couldn’t be justified changing the whole look of a room, just for reminiscing, but if you require a feature to design the room from then for me a stove would be an excellent starting point. Gallery Fireplace(s)

Global Marble

Global Marble and Granite, and mare made of high quality materials sourced worldwide, finished to a high standard.

Their materials range from natural marbles, slate, granite and something that is called micro agglomerate marble.

Micro agglomerate marble, or micro marble, is when natural stone is crushed, then reformed with approximately 4% resin to make a stone like substance. It looks very similar to real stone, yet with micro marble it is possible to make the colour, veining and texture more constant, and thus making it an ideal material to use in the fire surround industry.

For the fireplace purchaser micro marble brings the advantages of more choice, in colour, design and availability, and a more affordable price range than similar solid stone products. There is a difference between solid stone and micro marble, obviously, and if you have a large budget then go for the real marble or stone, but these are limited in colour and texture and graining are totally controlled by Mother Nature, so finding the perfect one to fit your décor may be a problem.

Some great examples of the fireplace designs available, the Vermont fireplace, truly a grand structure, large and full of statement being well structured and having a stepped hearth shows quality in design and gives a solidness to the finish.

For a more Contemporary fire surround look for the Sparta, with its crisp and clean lines it will complement most minimalistic surroundings creating a feature in itself. With a good fire it would complement any toga party!

Why not have a look at the Portland surround, Retro styling at its best, transporting you to the past, black and white pictures, or maybe a jukebox- Happy days!

One of the best selling would be the Millennium Fireplace. This surround would look at home with modern or traditional surroundings. In Napoli Beige it has a real marble look and colouring to it. The Millennium Fireplace from Global Marble is finished beautifully with a curved arch outset styling which makes it a must for modern homes.

With many different colours, styles and designs, the micro marble is quite a wonder, and should be considered when purchasing a surround. They certainly add a different aspect to the more common wooden surrounds and appear to be more affordable than the solid stone surrounds. Global Marble at Fireplace Megastore

Caterhams Fireplace

Caterhams fireplaces have a large selection of high quality fireplaces and surrounds. The fireplace surrounds come in three distinct categories, marble fireplaces, Portuguese limestone fireplaces and Caterham mantels.

Caterhams marble fireplaces come with a selection of finishing effects, the first is the natural marble. This is marble as nature intended and really classy, yet difficult to guarantee colouring and blemishes. The next types of marble Caterhams produce are agglomerate and micro-grained. These use crushed marble that are reformed using a minimal amount of resin, sometimes referred to as micro-marble, and this process allows the colour and texture to be more uniform. This keeps the costs down and availability high and the products finish is realistic to look at and to the touch.

Portuguese limestone fireplaces from Caterhams fireplaces are exquisite examples of pure limestone surrounds sourced from the continent and finished with skill and finesse. The only faults with these could only be natural and would probably add to the character to the piece, stylish and timeless.

Caterham fireplaces third type of surround is Caterhams mantels. These differ from the others as they come in a wooden finish rather than a stone finish, and a beautiful natural oak finish in that. There are however two types of the natural oak finishes available, the first is solid timber with a delightful natural oak finish and a more affordable Chinese MDF natural oak finish, lighter in weight and with the same design appeal as the solid wood.

GB Mantels Fireplaces

GB Mantels produce some high quality surrounds made from a range of different materials and available in a wide range of finishes so that the user can really choose how they want their surround to look. GB Mantels have separated all of their products into different collections; Solid Pine, Cosmopolitan, Capital, Solid Oak, Metropolitan and the Classic Collection. Each collection has its own products and its own style of finishes which vary from a MDF wood veneer to a solid wood surround. Some of the best looking surrounds are in the Cosmopolitan Collection because they come with two finishes on each surround. The surround is made with a contemporary collection of American Walnut and Clear Oak. The finishes together provide a different contrast to the normal surrounds that are available.

The Best made surrounds are in the Solid Oak Collection which are made from natural woods and GB Mantels state that no surrounds will look the same because of the different grains from the natural woods.

The majority of the surrounds that GB Mantels creates are suitable for Gas and Electric fires which again provide the user with even more choice about how they set up their fireplace. Each GB Mantel comes with the choice to include a back panel and hearth to make sure that it fits correctly.

GB Mantels have made sure that there are plenty of different styles available to make sure that there is a fireplace surround available for everyone. My own personal top 5 surrounds from GB Mantels would be:

• GB Mantels Romford, contemporary design with unique finish of American Walnut and Clear Oak. Suitable for use with most gas & electric fires with an adjustable 25/75mm rebate

• GB Mantels Perth, available in a range of finishes to the traditional styling and made from solid oak. Suitable for use with most gas & electric fires with an adjustable 25/75mm rebate

• GB Mantels Argyle, large surround made from solid pine that would be the talking point of any room. Suitable for use with most gas & electric fires with an adjustable 25/75mm rebate

• GB Mantels Mayfair, clean contemporary design made from solid oak strong lines and clean shape. Suitable for use with most gas & electric fires with an adjustable 25/75mm rebate

• GB Mantels Camberley, unique design and available in a wide range of finishes with strong lines and clean wide shape. Suitable for use with most gas & electric fires with an adjustable 25/75mm rebate

NEW Allwood Fireplaces

Allwood Fireplaces provide a comprehensive product range of fireplace surrounds, backs and hearths, and electric fires. Allwood have taken their honed skills and most popular designs and incorporated them into 2 complete electric suites. The electric suites that Allwood have created are the Boxster electric fireplace suite and the Verona electric fireplace suite.

The Boxster electric fireplace suite is a stunning fireplace, contemporary in its design and boasts 5 back and hearth and surround finishes. The fireplace surround is either constructed of a natural oak or walnut wood veneer or a real stone effect finish. The back panels and hearth are made from beige marfil stone, Cotswold stone or white solid micro marble. Micro marble uses a process whereby the stone or marble is crushed then reformed with a little resin. This process enables colour blemishes and tones to be corrected and enables ease of transport of raw materials. It is also rapidly becoming preferred as it gives a desired effect at a fraction of the cost of marble or stone.

The Boxster fireplace suite from Allwood Fireplaces comes with a choice of the popular Firenza fire. This fire is very stylish and adds to the contemporary suite design. The Firenza is available in a choice of finishes and fuel effects. Clean lines and contemporary style is a main feature of this suite, with simplicity and quality, a must have for any modern home.

The Verona suite is a modern suite, a more curvaceous and mood setting suite, with down lights, this electric suite more as a focal point to a room. This fireplace comes with a selection of 3 surround finishes, Cotswold stone effect, beige marfil stone effect and white. The back and hearths are matching and made of micro marble construction. As with the Boxster suite, the Verona suite comes with a selection of Firenza fires with a selection of finishes and fuel bed effects.

Allwood have created 2 suites packed with design and quality and these suites can simply be positioned and plugged in and are fully operational. A choice for homes with, or without a fireplace or flue.

CastTec Fireplaces

Cast Tec provide a wide range of cast iron surrounds as well as a variety of different options that can be selected on each product. Each product can be customized to suit the user so that they can choose the colour, the surround, the hearth and also what type of fire they want to go into the fireplace.

On some of the Cast Tec products the customer is able to select optional extras such as a canopy, tile inserts and fireback’s. The fireback’s have been provided as an optional extra on most of the products and will be specific to the fire that has been chosen. The tile inserts come in a range of different styles and finishes so that there is always something that the customer will like. The canopy’s can be added to a couple of products and provide a different design to what the customer would usually get.

One of Cast Tec’s ranges is the Integra collections which offers the fireplace as one whole piece but it can still be altered to the liking of the customer. The Integra collection also offers a wide range of fires that can be chosen for each fireplace such as a powerflue and a balanced flue along with an electric fire and a solid fuel option. Cast Tec also produce some individual fires and stoves so that customers can just buy a fire and not have to purchase the whole cast iron insert. The fires that are available individually are the Multiflue, Convector, Powerflue and the High Efficiency fire which produces a 4Kw heat output with an efficiency rating of 80%. The two multifuel stoves that Cast Tec offer are the Newark 5 and the Oregon 7 which are both capable of burning wood, peat and other smokeless fuels. The surrounds that are provided by Cast Tec come in an array of different styles and finishes such as Limestone, Carrara Marble, Solid Pine, Solid Oak and Granite which will all be accompanied by a black granite hearth available in different shapes and sizes.

One of the best fire options that Cast Tec offer is the balanced flue because it produces a maximum heat output of 4.3KW and also has an efficiency rating of 94% which is the highest available in the range. The balanced flue is also available in the majority of the fires from the Premier collection and would be ideal for anyone without a chimney. The Premier and the Classic are the other two collections from Cast Tec and they provide a wide range of products in different designs and styles. Each product also comes with a lot of different options to make sure that the customer can customize their fire to how they want it. The Premier and Classic collections both offer very similar fire options in terms of Gas, Electric and Solid Fuel, the main differences are the designs of the cast iron inserts and mantels that are available to choose from.

Along with cast iron inserts the Premier collection also offers a couple of stoves called the Newark 5 and the Oregon 7 which are both multifuel stoves that are capable of burning wood, peat and other smokeless fuels. Cast Tec also provides a gas and multifuel basket option called the Lions Basket which comes with a variety of back panel options from a reeded back to the decorative Adam panel.

Another unique product that Cast Tec offers is the combinations that include the cast iron insert and the mantel all in one product which makes it a lot easier to install and also makes it more compact to fit into smaller rooms. A good example of the cast iron combination is the Ashfield which comes a in a variety of finishes and also available in gas, electric or solid fuel. A unique surround that Cast Tec offers is the Tulip Solid Pine which incorporates two tulips into the design of the surround and would make it a real talking point for any room.

Along with the different surrounds that can be chosen, the customer is also able to select from a range of tile and cast iron sleeves on some of the products. The tile sleeves are available with a variety of different patterns in bright colours that really add to the design of the fireplace. The customer could also choose to have Cast Iron Sleeves that would give the fire a more traditional look, with the matt black and polished finish. A few of these sleeves can be selected at once so that the user can change them as and when they want.

All hearths that are provided with the fireplaces are Black Granite and come with the option of being a slabbed or tongued hearth to make sure that the user really gets to choose how they want it to look. The slabbed hearth option is for solid fuel fires only but all the rest are available in different sizes to fit with the size of the mantel chosen. Overall Cast Tec are a very good company that offer a very wide range of products to make sure that there is something for everyone and so that the customer can also choose how they want the fire to look and perform. Cast Tec at Fireplace Megastore

Gallery Abbey Fireplaces

Gallery have recently made the abbey suites available which comes in two packages, Dark Oak or Light Oak which can both have the choice of having an electric fire included or not. Each suite comes as standard with a surround, back panel and hearth.

The fire that is included in two of the suites has a maximum heat output of 2kW and an efficiency of 100%. The fire is also provided with a remote control and coal fuel effect as standard. With both of the suites including the fire it is finished in a brushed steel frame with a Baltimore polished fret.

The Abbey Light comes with a light oak effect surround with a modern curved arch design; the suite also comes with a 54” black granite hearth and back panel which enhance the look of the oak surround. The Abbey light comes with the choice of having a fire included or not. If the fire is not included then the suite is designed to be suitable for most gas and electric fires.

The Abbey Dark has a dark oak effect finish on the mantel and also has the modern curved arch and a top shelf width of 1350mm. This suite comes as standard with a micro marble marfill finished back panel and hearth that will look good in any room. The Abbey Dark is available without the standard Gallery electric fire and is suitable for most gas and electric fires that are available.

These suites are a perfect solution for anyone who doesn’t have a chimney or flue and wants to fit a fireplace easily and quickly because there is no need for an inset depth because the suite is free standing. The Abbey range is also a good solution for anyone who has a fire in mind but doesn’t have a surround or hearth because this comes as one. Abbey suites are available at low prices from Fireword.