Plaster fire surrounds - why so cheap?

l33m4n

Hi,

We are renovating an old fireplace and will be fitting a Chesney stove. As we are over-budget on our choice of stove we would like to save some money on the surround. This is the sort of thing we would like:-

chesneys.co.uk/products/fireplaces/regency-collection/the-langley

We have seen some plaster surrounds that have similar mouldings but are incredibly cheap in comparison (I guess because the material is so cheap). I'm trying to work out what the cons might be?

• Easily damaged / chipped?
• Prone to cracking due to heat? (doesn't seem likely if they are being sold for this purpose)

Can anybody suggest why a plaster fire surround would be a bad idea?


Thanks!

Leif

Bear in mind that many fire surrounds (and hearths) are cosmetic, or designed for use with an electric fire which generates less hot air than an open fire. And as for cheap, well yes, plaster is moulded, hence easy to produce. A limestone surround has to be carved.

Have you looked on ebay? You can get nice surrounds from respectable names such as Stovax at lowish prices. And Google will find some that look good. I recall some solid oak ones for about £300, seemed nice, but of course you cannot be sure. An alternative is a wood mantle. They can look really good with a stove, and they are inexpensive. I have a hearth, and no surround. Looks okay to me.

phill99

They are cheap because they are made of a low cost material.

They can chip, but can be repaired really cheaply (pollyfilla). They can also be painted easily.

rustyboy21

It will crack if you have a solid fuel stove fitted. It will almst certainly chip when you are putting it together.

TBH, didn't even know they still existed, haven't seen one or sold one in years, but take loads out.

Will do the job, but will crack and you will forever be worrying about knocking into it and chipping it.

Don't go for resin ones either with solid fuel, they will melt!

As Leif said have a look at wood. you could get something similar in marble as the chesney one is. Like this.

http://www.galleryfireplaces.co.uk/show_product.php?from_flash=1&product_id=536

Chesney is nice, but are expensive