Opening a fire place for a wood burner

[the little old lady]

Hi, we are thinking about opening our fire place to install a multi fuel stove, I have looked online at various ways of how to do it and most say that there should be a vent at skirting board level. We don't have this vent down stairs where the fire was but it is upstairs in the bedroom that has the chimney breast in it, would this be a problem? Don't want to start something before I know all the facts. Thanks in advance

 

[Burnerman]

If your chosen stove has an output greater than 5kW, then internal ventilation is necessary to ensure the air supply. Lower than that and its deemed there are enough draughts in the house to keep the stove happy!
Things of great importance are the integrity of the existing chimney (an appropriate liner is very good to have, but not necessarily essential) and the appropriate size and thickness of hearth for your stove to stand on.
John

 

[ray.birch]

As has been mentioned by Burnerman, you shouldn't need any additional ventilation if your existing burner is <5Kw, which gives a good range to choose from still. Do you have a particular one in mind? How big is the room you're aiming to heat?