Do YOU need a fireplace?

black-saturn

I would look at the overall credentials of the house. Sure a fireplace is nice but another house may have another nice feature about it which you are willing to sacrifice the fireplace for. Personally I did have a fireplace in each room in this house but only used the downstairs ones. Then I had central heating installed and havn't used the fire since. But that's just my opinion.

skintchick

Depends. IF it were an old house then it probably needs one, to look right. But I live in a 1980s house that used to have a back bouiler in an ugly brick chimney breast fronted with a vile gas fire, and I have moved the boiler and ripped the whole lot out to maximise space and it looks WAAAY better.

Is the house old or new?

nelly_2

Fires are the single most outdated pile of pants ever.

I reckon most people only have them because they have allwys been there so to speak.
No matter how funky it is or how much it cost, you still spend over 99% of your time watching the tv.

And getting rid of a chimney breast makes an amazing size difference to a room.

DesG

Skintchick: It is 1970's and the fireplace was even worse than the 80's one you describe

Nelly: Luckily the chimney is external, so we didn't have to remove it.

skintchick

No - nothing could have been worse than mine!! Hospital beige, set off-centre for a quirky look, with brown tiles around it, badly-grouted of course so it was smeared all over them, topped off with red brick and a lovely greying formerly-white plastic vent thing underneath, the better to allow a howling gale through.

They used 70s stuff cos it was built by shysters, sorry, I mean the council.

bylromarha

This thread is making me feel better.

We have a new build, chose not to put a fire in (although it's wired for it) as it takes up space we want to use for other things.

Nice to know people will still buy when we decide to sell!

DesG

Skintchick: Ok, I have to admit, ours wasn't that bad, but close

Cheers, Des.

Ember999

Yes, I would want a fire place and actually have 'not bought' properties I was looking at because of this. Christmas to me is sat by a roaring fire in the cold of winter. A room without a fireplace is lacking a focal point to have the family settle around, if you get my meaning

I love fires, be they real or living flame effect. They make a home cosy

nadnad

very interesting - I'm building my own house and am having arguments with all around me because I don't want a chimney breast. I will put in some sort of focal point - whether it be just a fire place with candles in it, or a gas fire or one of those plasma screen fires but just not a real fire - soooo dirty and hard work too. But a lot of people (especially my parents) keep saying "oh no everyone loves a fire you might have difficulty if you ever want to sell it blah blah blah"!!

DesG

nadnad: well judging by the poll results so far, it looks like you will cut off 50% of the market by not putting one in!

I don't think it bothers me that much, as I'm guessing the people who insist on a fireplace would hate our house from a lot of other angles too

Cheers, Des.