10 top tips when buying a fireplace…
1. Check to see which type of fire you can have
One of the first steps when buying a fireplace is deciding which fuel source is suitable for your situation.
Fireplace technology has advanced ten fold over the past 20 years which has introduced solutions for fireplaces which would not have been possible 20 years ago. Whether you have a giant inglenook that you could sleep in or a flat outside wall with no hole at all you can find a fireplace.
There are 6 main types of fires available, they are:
- Solid fuel – good old reliable wood, coal, logs or various other combustible materials
- Natural gas – straight out of the pipe and into the fire. Gas fires offer the closest resemblance to solid fuel fires without the mess.
- LPG gas – the same principal as natural gas just out of a bottle instead.
- Powerflue – One of the most innovative ideas since the creation of fireplaces! Powerflues are the gas option to homes where there is no chimney to expel the smoke and fumes. Powerflues are installed on an outside wall and use a fan assist to expel the smoke and fumes.
- Gel – A relatively new fuel source. Gel fireplaces offer a small decorative fire without the need of any smoke expulsion or very little.
Co-star gets the short end of the stick for first episode…
This means that now I am going to have to continue to watch the series to try and catch a good look at it and hopefully get a picture to post on here. My wife will be terribly annoyed as her sense of humour doesnt cater for this style of comedy – but I thoroughly enjoyed it…
Darwin wooden surround co-stars in new TV show!
After nearly 2 years since its first pilot show – Free Agents is being broadcast on channel 4 at 10pm tonight!
About the show
Alex (Stephen Mangan) is a talent agent suffering all the sadness and pain of divorce. In the office opposite him is Helen (Sharon Horgan) a talent agent suffering all the sadness and pain of bereavement. They’re perfect for each other. According to Alex. According to Helen, he has got to be bloody joking. There’s no way she’s having sex with Alex. Again. Not after the last two times they had sex. Absolutely not….
Set in a world where everyone – the agents, the agents’ boss (Anthony Head), the agents’ clients, the agents’ friends and relations and ex-girlfriends and accountants – are all as bizarrely screwed up as Alex and Helen – Free Agents is a dark, poignant comedy. An on-but-mostly-off romance about a couple who might just have a future if they can ever shake off their past(s)….
view official free agents website.
view more details about the show at the British Comedy Guide website.
About the co-star
The Darwin wooden surround is a plain Victorian style mantel with decorative Beading at the top of the legs and bottom of the frieze. It is available in Oak and Pine, Handmade in England and available in a few finishes. Decor wise it is a winner because it can be used with both a modern and period decor style.
view details about the Darwin wooden surround.
New Showroom
After a lot of hard work designing, building and decorating we have finally (very nearly) finished the showroom.
Victorian Fireplaces has been supplying beautiful fireplaces all over the country now for over 18 years and over those 18 years we have also had a few showrooms, however for the past couple of years the closest thing we had to a showroom was a dusty office with a couple of fireplaces on display.
For the past year or so, in our conversations building a showroom kept on popping up and I think it was either October or November when David really started to get enthusiastic about the idea of it and we started drawing up some ideas and planning where things could go and then wham everything just started to happen at once, typically right in the middle of the busiest period of the year – Winter! Before we knew it we moved to a new building, had contractors building a building inside the new building and our joiners were in constructing the display units. Thankfully everything just fell together perfectly and with David’s keen eye for the decorative items the showroom just looks amazing (and I am not being biased).
We really hope that you get a chance to come visit our showroom where a hot drink, a comfortable arm chair (yes David this is a reminder to go and buy them!) and the best advice on fireplaces will be waiting for you!
Hope to see you soon,
Dan
p.s. if you head on over to our gallery we took some pictures of the showroom so you can have a wander before you come.
Guide to fitting a fireplace
This guide is meant as a guide only for fitting decorative fireplaces. To fit a working fireplace the relevant qualified engineer must carry out the work. Failing to use the relevant qualified engineer may void the warrantee.
To fit a Solid fuel fireplace use a Hetas qualified engineer.
Find a qualified Hetas engineer
To fit a Gas fireplace use a Gas Safe Register qualified engineer. (Gas Safe Register replaced Corgi on April 1st 2009)
Find a qualified Gas Safe Register engineer
Tiles
Lay tiles face down on floor, making sure you have lined the five tiles up (matching the pattern) Using wide masking tape stick the five tiles together at the back (two 2 inch wide strips 30 inches long). Place insert face down on floor run a bead of black Silicon around the outer edge of the tile frame, place the set of five tiles into the Silicon bead press firmly in place. Now run two beads of Silicon along the tile bar which is then placed behind the tiles locate the bolts at each end of the tile bar tighten up the bolts so that the tile bar sinks into the Silicon **Be very careful the tiles are ceramic and will crack if over tightened**. Now lift the insert up to make sure the tile pattern is inline at the front of the insert, then put to one side to set. (more…)