Opening up a fireplace

cyclonebri1

martinthebandit wrote: »

Hmmm we have an efficient gas central heating system and a log burner, it's -2 outside with a real feel of -8

Central heating is off but the log burner is chugging away nicely and the room is toasty warm.

I don't care which is most efficient I know which is nicer to sit in front of, and an open fire would be even better from an aesthetic point of view.

Way to go, :T:T
This is what I was talking about.
We don't have any open fires, just a very authentic looking gas stove in an inglenook, best of both side I suppose.:T

But I was brought up in a mining family, roasting open fires etc, so still value them. My elderly mother still gets her concessionary coal and the fires are still burning.
My daughter has recently fitted 2 all fuel fires, 1 in a conventional chimney and 1 as an enclosed burner. Bloody warm in their house, (they use these in addition to the standard CH system)

My garden supplies all their winter wood reqs, plus they by a little coal for cold spells.

fluffig

We've opened up 4 bricked up fireplaces in this very old house and haven't regretted it. We removed the rubble, bricks etc ourselves and then got a builder to look at the arch / lintel over the opening, and a sweep to check the chimney.

I guess every case is different, but all 4 of ours were fine arch/lintel wise, and 3 were fine flue wise. The feathers unfortunately were breached in the 4th so we've never used that one. One day when we've £££s we'll go down the liner route for it.

The ventilation provided has cured any slight damp problems that previously existed. This old house wasn't designed to be hermetically sealed.

And we love the open fire / log burners

Hope it goes well for you if you decide to open it up.

Ben84

martinthebandit wrote: »

Fair point.

Although one advantage not often considered is that you pay for your fuel before you use it, you are not wondering how much the bill for the heating is going to be.

Plus (with a log burner anyway) there are opportunities for cheap or free fuel.

Another advantage is that it will work during a power cut. Solid fuel has relative advantages and disadvantages.

As for stoves, even the inefficient ones are significantly better than an open fire. Some stoves are also very efficient, but these tend to be costly to buy. However, in areas without mains gas, these can be an economical alternative to oil or propane. Once you've got past the initial cost anyway.

Ben84

Norfolk_Jim wrote: »

My thanks for your advise - those are the sorts of things I need to know.
We have gas fired central heating but our financial state is such that we rarely turn it on - it has be freezing before we do. Black mould has started to grow on the walls behind our sofa.
We definitely cant afford to turn the electric fire on.
I thought that any heat no matter how inefficient would be better than no heat plus it would be nice to be able to sit in a room with a fire in it - it would be more "homely".
I would not be buying in anything. I can get some free wood from the forestry dept at work and I used to be a woodsman so I know the burning qualities of various woods and the problems some cause and others dont - but I know nothing about chimneys and open fires in houses.
SO - my first port of call is a sweep but if it turns out the chimney needs relining I can forget it as it will cost me big time - right?

If you can get free fuel, then it's definitely worth trying to use it. Using an open fire for an evening however does in my experience burn through a big quantity of fuel - so I'm wondering just how much you can get? You'll need somewhere to store it, possibly to season it too. With a reliable source of free fuel, I'd try to get a stove eventually as they do reduce your effort a lot and make the most of the fuel.

As for other options, turning off the other radiators and heating just the living room with a gas boiler is usually pretty cheap to do. It should be cheaper than the electric fire.

cyclonebri1

Thing is Ben, a fire is so important that it can't just be seen as a source of heat.

It absolutely has to be acceptable from a focal point perspective point of view.

(that does make sense if you read it correctly).;)

I for 1 don't want to sit watching telly and look up longingly at a white radiator.

I will also add that there really are ways of getting hold of fire wood "gratis", and I don't mean soggy damp stuff from the woodland floor Jim,;);)

Ben84

cyclonebri1 wrote: »

I for 1 don't want to sit watching telly and look up longingly at a white radiator.

That's the whole point, the radiators aren't important. Heating is no longer localised to one or two rooms with big bulky fireplaces dominating them, leaving the majority of the house cold and unusable, it's an innate property of the entire house now and you can enjoy every room in that house in any weather and fill and decorate it with anything you like - in any arrangement in any location of any room you want. We have all the heat we want, anywhere we want it. It's subtler, safer and cleaner, so that the house becomes a more enjoyable space to live in.

cyclonebri1

I was referring more to N Jim Ben, rather than your situation, sorry for any confusion.

We all have different requirements dependant on house type, so as long as all options are fully explored the buyer takes his choice;););)