Gas fire to solid fuel fire transition

positivenote

Hi all,

moved into a house that has a gas fire in the sitting room. We want to convert it to a solid fuel fire, either traditional or an inset room heater stove.

foes anyone know of ir recommend anywhere that would do this and know how much we should budget for the work.

house is approx 17 years old

any advice would be appreciated

thanks

bemak

If there's an existing chimney there you'll have to line it and install a stove either in the hearth (insert) or proud of the hearth (standalone). Did this a few years ago ourselves. Got a lovely Dik Geurts stove, very slick looking as it looks like an open fire. Budget 4-5k depending on what stove you go for.

Furze99

Lot depends on the chimney construction and whether it was built to suit solid fuel. I believe there are houses currently being built that have false chimneys i.e. there is no need for a chimney in them but the builders put these in for aesthetic reasons so they can sell them for more!

Not likely to apply in your case, but not all flues/ chimneys are created equal.

positivenote

this is what we currently have and would love to replace it… I’ve now been told we can’t have a wooden mantle piece ???

any advice would be great

Penn

Did the same myself last year. Got gas supply pipe to fireplace disconnected, new inset stove built into fireplace, new flue liner installed in existing flue and chimney cowl installed, and yes the wooden mantle frame has to go as well due to increased heat from the stove (there is a minimum distance a timber surround must be from the stove). Your hearth may also need to be replaced. Mine didn't as it wasn't one solid piece and had expansion joints in it, but if it's one solid piece then again, with the increased heat from a stove it's likely to crack. The ornate surround (between the timber mantle and the gas fire) may also have to be replaced (Mine didn't as it was flat, plain and the standard stove size fit perfectly in the space of the gas fireplace without any modifications required).

It's more than likely achievable, but you need an installer to determine how much works are required. Either arrange for someone to call out, or take photos and measurements and visit their store and ask them to review.

Mine cost about 2,300, but as I said there were things which may be required for yours which weren't required for mine.

positivenote

Thanks very much for the detailed feedback.

can I ask who did the work for you and would you recommend them?

theteal

We got this done a couple of months ago. The gas fire was already (accidentally) cut off from a big boiler job we had done at the start of the year - only noticed at time of fireplace job, shows how much we used it!

We were told the same about the wooden mantle/surround having to go which added a nice chunk to the first estimate we got. Then we had a second quote, a guy who actually came and looked at it. He explained how we could go about keeping the surround by adding some small inserts around the inside edge of the fireplace. In truth he was more concerned about the construction of the chimney and whether it would collapse once they started digging - thankfully it didn't .

Anyway, I can't advise on someone to do the job as we're UK. We got a Charnwood C5 stove which retails at close to £1500 over here - he got a bit of a discount on it (from the place we got the initial estimate, funnily enough!). Total was just shy of £3500 (inc. stove), have a peek

Before

During - a LOT more bricks/rubble came out of there than I ever would have thought

After - see the black inserts which actually frame it nicely - we took a couple of inches off the height of the surround at the same time

L1011

A 17 year old house may not have a flue suited for lining and use for anything other than a gas fire - I've seen them flexi metal flues that escape via a plastic cover on the roof - I don't know if these were building regs compliant but there's entire estates of them around!

10-10-20

Ah yeah, that's a good and neat refit.

blackbox

As it's an open gas fire you probably have a full size flue.

More than likely it will need a liner as it has to be able to withstand a chimney fire (not that you're planning to have one).

The room should already have adequate ventilation.

cml387

We got this done a few months ago.

We needed a new mantlepiece.

Cost was circa €6k

Nagle fireplaces Mallow. I would recommend them, and they will travel some distance.

Penn

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119974114#Comment_119974114

Just a local fireplaces & stoves contractor. So long as they're HETAS registered then any such company should be able to do the works.

Oscar_Madison

Got this done a few years ago also- very similar to what @theteal got done-

They inspected the chimney to ensure it was suitable for a solid fuel stove - It was but I know that if it wasn’t there may have been some fix possible but it would have upped the cost somewhat.

I know we’re in sustainability times these days but given the level of heat that comes from these stoves I can’t recommend enough especially given what you have currently and the recent cold weather- once up and running it heats entire downstairs so we just use boiler for hot water- saying that, if looking to retrofit your house with the latest and greatest efficient heating systems, you may be better off putting money into that but it’s a considerable investment.

Stove and fireplace was about 5k I think -we used a local company who are well established - certainly choose company carefully - it’s your house and life at stake here- no cowboys

C. Eastwood

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058270664/gas-fire-to-solid-fuel-fire-transition

A traditional solid fuel fire is very inefficient when it’s lighting and when it’s not lighting. Heat loss up the chimney 24/7.

Fit a solid fuel stove - either freestanding or inset.

Ensure the stove is multi fuel (including coal).

Plug in a 2 Kw heater in the room and if it heats up the room quickly- then get a 3 to 4 Kw solid fuel stove.

Get many quotes / advice - as there are many unqualified incompetent Langers - masquerading as Stove Fitting Experts. All of these are giving you Biased advice.

I recommend getting unbiased advice from a Construction Professional.

It is very important to ascertain full details of the existing flue.

Your house is 17 years old, and if the flue is constructed with 225 mm clay fire liners, there will be no need to line the flue with a flexible flue liner.

The flue of the stove can be connected to the existing 225 mm clay flue liner in the flue gathering (above the fire ope) with a stainless steel adapter - See the figure below

F1D09635-F36F-4815-84FD-7A168500C77B.jpeg

You must fit a Carbon Monoxide Detector in the room with the fireplace, also in any room above where the flue passes through it and also in the Attic adjacent to the chimney breast. All of these detectors should be interconnected.