which fireplace?

Dave_J_3

marble or limestone?

DirectDebacle

With all that info.

Toss a coin.

macman

Which car? Silver or blue?

Dave_J_3

sorry i know it wasnt exactly very informative lol

TBH there is loads of choices etc in designs and I was hoping somebody may shed light on their opinions with regards to which stone etc

Leif

By fireplace what do you mean? Hearth? Surround? Both? How large is the opening? What kind of fire? Electric, gas, coal, wood, stove?

Marble and limestone are relatively soft, and suitable for coal, wood and stoves. Engineered marble is not suitable for real fires, and stoves. I prefer granite hearths and wood surrounds. Limestone looks gorgeous, but really what do you care what I like? You would probably look at my house and think "Eeeeeeuuuuwww".

rustyboy21

If you are going for Gas or Electric then either will do

If you are going solid fuel, then I would say Neither. You would be better with a tiled or sandstone fireplace. Solid fuel cannot be regulated on heat as much as Gas. Marble will crack and limestone will discolour. Marble quality varies too, Micro marble will melt with solid fuel. Limestone will mark badly and it is a devil to get the soot out.

If you are looking at gas, then you will want a marble which is rated to over 150 deg temp. There are a lot of cheap imports that have not been rated and have been shown to crack with the heat. The cheaper you go with marble the thinner and dodgier it gets.

Best idea is to go around a number of local fireplace showrooms and have a look at what you like. I wouldn't get one via internet, as you do not know the quality of the stone/marble you are buying. There are a number of suppliers of fireplaces who are selling them dead cheap, I have bought some in the past, thougt I would make a quick buck and had to replace them when the cracked or discoloured.

rustyboy21

Leif wrote: »

By fireplace what do you mean? Hearth? Surround? Both? How large is the opening? What kind of fire? Electric, gas, coal, wood, stove?

Marble and limestone are relatively soft, and suitable for coal, wood and stoves. Engineered marble is not suitable for real fires, and stoves. I prefer granite hearths and wood surrounds. Limestone looks gorgeous, but really what do you care what I like? You would probably look at my house and think "Eeeeeeuuuuwww".

I like you Leif...


You are different to a number of other posters, who have solid fuel, who don't know their rs from their elbow, who would normally advise that everything is hunky dory and '' yes you can have a solid fuel stove with a plastic surround and a laminate back panel and hearth'' :rotfl:

Yu do seem to know what you are tibout with ref to solid fuel.

Dave_J_3

rustyboy21 wrote: »

If you are going for Gas or Electric then either will do

If you are going solid fuel, then I would say Neither. You would be better with a tiled or sandstone fireplace. Solid fuel cannot be regulated on heat as much as Gas. Marble will crack and limestone will discolour. Marble quality varies too, Micro marble will melt with solid fuel. Limestone will mark badly and it is a devil to get the soot out.

If you are looking at gas, then you will want a marble which is rated to over 150 deg temp. There are a lot of cheap imports that have not been rated and have been shown to crack with the heat. The cheaper you go with marble the thinner and dodgier it gets.

Best idea is to go around a number of local fireplace showrooms and have a look at what you like. I wouldn't get one via internet, as you do not know the quality of the stone/marble you are buying. There are a number of suppliers of fireplaces who are selling them dead cheap, I have bought some in the past, thougt I would make a quick buck and had to replace them when the cracked or discoloured.

great post, thanks

We currently have gas and will probably stick with it however the electric units are quite good nowadays.
We are looking at the full setup. I prefer the look of the limestone, the wife wants marble. We have been to 2 local places and and prices are very much similar,around the £700 mark, not including fire. Sound reasonable?

rustyboy21

Dave_J wrote: »

great post, thanks

We currently have gas and will probably stick with it however the electric units are quite good nowadays.
We are looking at the full setup. I prefer the look of the limestone, the wife wants marble. We have been to 2 local places and and prices are very much similar,around the £700 mark, not including fire. Sound reasonable?

Hi Thanks

£700 is average TBH

Limestone is nice, go for a decent quality limestone surround. Ones made by Fireline or gallery collection are not too bad. Some of the limestone suppliers are using cheapy limestone. Take note, limestone is a bit of a weird substance. It is very brittle and doesn't like getting knocked. There are 2 types you can get, Aegean and Portugese. Aegean is light in colour, has little 'speckles' in it and does suffer from having , what looks like a pitted surface. Portugese is slightly darker, is a little stronger, but has veining going through it like pure marble. This has the downside, that you can have a leg, or mantle with no veining and the other leg does. There is nothing wrong with that, it just has to be taken into account.

HE gas fires are all the rage at the mo and will be suitable for limestone surrounds. Limestone back panels are always in 3 pieces, this is good as an HE gas fire will make it hot and 3 pieces will allow for heat expansion.

Cleaning wise, It is fairly easy. I don't seal any of the ones I sell. Sealing them, just traps any moisture/grease under it. Just get a bowl of warm soapy water, a sponge and just wash them down, rubbing where they are heavily marked. Dry off with a tea towel and you are good to go.

Just watch out for the Red wine drinkers, or juice cups with kids and putting them anywhere near the stone. You will be crying, as the stains won't come out, it is very porous !

Hope this helps. If you do go down the Limestone route, buy from a shop and let them fit it. Buying off the internet and getting the carrier to deliver, will end up in tears. It will come in at least 9 pieces. Internet and it will come in about 300 !:eek:

The shop will know how to fit it, what adhesive t use, so it doesn't stain the stone and also be gas registered to fit the fire.

Any questions, just get in touch with me.

cheers