Fireplace Installation

[johnny_t]

Morning All,

In my house, I used to have a cast-iron insert fireplace, which my wife wanted replacing with a log-burner.

I had the chimney swept out and checked (it's a clay liner, or whatever the term is) and, whilst I know I shouldn't have, boned up on the internet and fitted it myself. It sits inside the cavity that was behind the old fireplace and has been going for several years.

She now wants me to take the log burner out and replace with pretty much what we had before (or, to be specific, this - http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=280592891394&ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT).

Again, with the caveat that I know I shouldn't, officially, how tricky is it to do this yourself. It isn't something that feels beyond me, to be honest.

Alternatively, if I did decide to go the 'fully legal' route, roughly what order of magnitude price-wise would it cost me to call up a professional to put it in for me. Is there any pre-work I could do to make the job easier (and cheaper).

 

[Richard C]

Although it is controlled building work, there is nothing preventing a DIY fire install as long as you know what your doing. You need to submit a Building Notice (+ fee), get the existing flue checked & tested, bone up on the BR’s you need to satisfy (several), have your installation inspected by LABC who may also want to witness smoke spillage tests before issuing you with a certificate of compliance. The certificate is important as you will be asked to provide one when you sell the property or to your insurance company in the unfortunate case of a claim if something goes wrong; no certificate & they will most likely reject your claim.

How much a HETAS registered installer would charge depends on how much work is involved but, typically, I would say anything between £400 - £1000+ (excluding the fire) depending if a flue liner is necessary & how much building work is involved. Only way you will know is to get several quotes from independent installers, you can download a list of those in your area from here;
http://www.hetas.co.uk/nearest_member
Avoid stove shops, they are generally much more expensive.

Are you saying the current stove sits inside the wall cavity?

 

[johnny_t]

Thanks for the info. That was a bit more than I was hoping, to be honest. It really shouldn't take much building work, as it is pretty much going back in where one came out of, so really a case of knocking off the front plasterwork, cementing and screwing the insert in place and then backfilling.

The current stove sits inside the old 'fireplace' - i.e at the bottom of the chimney.

 

[Goldspoon]

Book: Fireplaces, chimneys Michael Waumsley - diagrams on exactly how to do it plus vent sizing etc. ...

 

[johnny_t]

Book: Fireplaces, chimneys Michael Waumsley - diagrams on exactly how to do it plus vent sizing etc. ...

Thanks,

Incidentally, I picked the fireplace up last night. Apparently, according to the guy I bought it off, the entire installation of this piece at his house was it being silicone-rubbered to the wall, and it had been in use like that for several years.....