log burner

andrewf75

Hopefully going to get a log burner installed before the winter. Just a small one 5kW max. Just intended as a luxury, no ambitions to heat the whole house will only be on for cold winter evenings.

We had a back boiler in our chimney which has been removed. Going to visit a showroom next weekend to check out some stoves and discuss getting a survey done etc.

My question is do the installers sort out the hearth and the tidying up of the opening as part of the installation or is that something that should already be in place or done by a builder type person? Bit unsure what order to do things in. Whats the cheapest way to get this done? We don't need anything fancy just a concrete slab. We have a 50s house so no fancy period fireplace just a hole in the wall.

Many thanks! Also any tips on recommended makes/models of fire appreciated.

Sandy7

I have just had a 5kW stove fitted and my first point of contact was the HETAS website to find the details of local installers. After speaking to a few of them, I opted for an installer who divided his quote into sections and specified the cost for each piece of work. I also went to a number of local showrooms to look at the stoves and ask for their opinion of my preferred installer (thumbs up from all).

I decided to remove the groovy 1950's fireplace which saved me a bit of money and he tided the edge and arranged for the wall to be plastered. He also gave me options regarding the hearth material, colour and depth and he fitted this. I could have saved some money doing this myself but for convenience[FONT=&quot][/FONT] opted to let him do it so make sure the distance to combustibles were all correct.

In terms of which stove to recommend, I would look at the style you prefer and use this as a basis to narrow down the selection. I opted for a solid beast of a stove from Contura and love it!

andrewf75

Thanks for that. What did you pay all in? The basic stoves seem to be around 400-500 and a company near me quotes 900 to fit (not sure that incudes hearth and plastering etc)

Would like to get it done for less than 2000 ideally...

saverbuyer

andrewf75 wrote: »

Thanks for that. What did you pay all in? The basic stoves seem to be around 400-500 and a company near me quotes 900 to fit (not sure that incudes hearth and plastering etc)

Would like to get it done for less than 2000 ideally...

Don't go too basic on the stove, you'll regret it in the end.


I'm getting a couple of fireplaces fitted at the minute. I was shocked at the price of liner for the stove. Other one open with a fire basket and brick cladding.

andrewf75

saverbuyer wrote: »

Don't go too basic on the stove, you'll regret it in the end.

Thanks, happy to pay more if need be

But as I say its only a luxury to heat a small room on winter evenings so what might cause me to be disappointed with a basic stove?

saverbuyer

andrewf75 wrote: »

Thanks, happy to pay more if need be

But as I say its only a luxury to heat a small room on winter evenings so what might cause me to be disappointed with a basic stove?

I'm not an expert but I've been told the "cheap" Chinese stoves are poorly designed, poor seals, poor control etc.


There are a few thread about the subject.


https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/3739833


Review site


http://www.whatstove.co.uk/




PS. I'm going for the Clearview Pioneer 400.

eastonian

We had our gas fire removed, I enlarged the opening and then the fitter rendered the fireplace, fitted the hearth (we supplied stone) and then installed stove & liner. Total cost was around £1400, and we spent a further £580 on a Cleanburn Lovenholm multi fuel stove. Relatively cheap stove but has performed great for the last 2 winters, and came in under £2k.

NB any newly installed stove over 5kw output requires a separate air supply, but you wouldn't need anything that powerful unless you have a large space to heat.

ds1980

we're fitting ourselves. Getting a cheap chinese ekol clarity 8kw. its about £1100 all in with liner cowl etc. Building inspector is signing off.

stovefittersmanual is a good site for advice.

rampies_wife

We had a HETAS installer we sourced from the HETAS website
purchased or own 5KW fire from http://www.snhtradecentre.co.uk/fires-fireside-accessories/firefox-5-cb.html
We also sourced our own hearth and got an independant plasterer to make good around fireplace.
we did not need a liner installation and the whole thing came to just under £1000. :j

We had other quotes to get the whole thing done as a job lot and those were coming in at just under £2K
We are in North Notts just in case you need any recommendations

rustyboy21

To those who are considering a log burner/ multi fuel stove just answer the following points honestly.

1. Do you have a plentiful supply of free or VERY cheap timber to hand? ( need to answer Yes) - This doesnt mean scrap pallets, pine offcuts, MDF offcuts etc, Real tree trunks of native trees is what you need.

2. Do you have an area available to store it, out of the weather and sufficiently large enough to store a lot of timber? ( need to answer YES) - In order to season the wood, reduce it's moisture content.

3. Do you live in a smoke control area and will your stove be DEFRA approved? ( Need to answer YES) - If you burn any thing other than truely seasoned wood, then you will be emitting harmful gases and fumes. You will also ruin the £1000 liner you paid for, most likely ruin the stove and be a potential fire risk and health risk if the fumes leak into your property, through a faulty chimney the liner goes through.

Local authotities are now beginning to cotton on how many people have had stoves installed and have started to investigate homes abusing the smoke control zones. They are also looking at if they have been installed to building regs.

Sales of stoves have declined by over 35% in the past 12 months, I myself have had at least 10 consumers in my shop in the past monthtaking out stoves and fitting gas stoves instead. When asked why, they were fed up with cleaning them out, the dust they make, the cost of fuel, the preparation of the fuel etc.

Sales of gas stoves has more than doubled in past 12 months, partly due to above.

Gas will always be cheaper than buying wood or using electric, is cleaner, more friendly to the environment than electric ( at production), is easier to maintain, cheaper to install than wood/SF stoves and easy to light. The price of the Liner for gas ( if needed) is at least 1/2 the price of a SF liner to install. And dont say that they do not look as real as a wood burner, go and have a look at them, some are 100% better than the real thing, at least you can see the flames, without continually having to clean the glass everyday !

Unless you live in a Rural area, with a supply of Free seasoned wood, a space to store unseasoned wood for over 12 months and need to use it as a primary source of heat, then really think about getting one. If you are just looking at using one for a decorative effect when using that room, then forget it, go out and get a Gas Stove or fire installed and even at a pinch an electric stove !

andrewf75

I've looked seriously at gas, but the problem is that the whole point of the reason why people want wood burners is the whole "burning something" part! The storing of logs, the chopping, the lighting of the fire, the whole ritual. If it was just flicking a switch then I'd be asking myself whats the point.

I understand the issues and the warnings, but I think these only apply to people who are just getting one to be trendy. Most people who get wood burners do so because they want to do the whole storing/cutting/burning logs thing!

Its a similar thing to BBQs. Why do you go through all the hassle of lighting a fire when you could just switch the oven on. Because its fun playing with fire!