Fireplace Fitter Birkenhead Merseyside (CH41): If you are sick and tired of high energy costs and want to find an alternative method for heating your home in Birkenhead, why not open up an unused fireplace and put in an economical multi-fuel, wood burner or open fire? As long as you have a ready supply of timber or fuel, the addition of a wood burning stove or open fire for those chilly winters' days can even prove to be less expensive than a conventional central heating system. Combine your fireplace with a back boiler and you can benefit from endless supplies of hot water for even more savings.
There are some crucial factors to consider to achieve a safe and efficient fireplace, before you begin bashing down the walls of a blocked up fireplace. To start with, Part J of the Building Regulations will need to be followed in regards to the construction and installation of any hearths, fireplaces, chimney breasts and flue linings which are an integral part of a combustible appliance in your home in Birkenhead. If you live in a listed building, or a dwelling that lies in a designated conservation, you'll need to find out from the council if you need to get planning permission for the installation of a fireplace.
PROFESSIONAL OR DIY FIREPLACE INSTALLATION?
When refurbishing an old blocked up fireplace, there's a fair chance of coming across structural issues, so even if you are an enthusiastic DIYer you could easily find this kind of work difficult. If you are fortunate when you open up a boarded fireplace you may find a decent lintel, chimney breast and hearth that needs little more than the advice and services of a chimney sweep to get it ready for use. What you will likely discover is a wall of crumbling, old bricks that hides problems such as a lintel that needs replacing or a blocked up chimney.
Employing a specialist fireplace installer in Birkenhead is widely advised, because a fireplace that is wrongly installed can cause serious fire risk and respiratory health problems. Ensuring that sufficient oxygen is available in a room for the fire to burn correctly is a key aspect of the Building Regulations for fireplaces. If there's not enough airflow then it's quite possible that a fire will burn inefficiently and cause carbon monoxide fumes to build up, which can be deadly.
It might be necessary to fit airflow vents in floors and walls to allow the fire to receive sufficient oxygen to burn safely and effectively at all times. Condensing air can often get trapped within blocked chimney flues which could also require improved ventilation, to prevent issues with dampness and staining inside the chimney breast.
BEFORE WORK COMMENCES
Having a fireplace opened up can cause huge amounts of dust and soot to enter your room. To ensure that your belongings do not get harmed by the soot, muck and dust that's released during work by a fireplace installer, removing any rugs, furniture and carpets beforehand is generally recommended. If you're carrying out a full restoration of a house or room, the fireplace ought to be opened up and worked on before any decoration or plastering works are dealt with. The reason for this is to avoid the chance of any staining damage to work that's previously been accomplished.
STRUCTURAL & CONSTRUCTION WORK
As soon as the old fireplace has been successfully opened up, you'll get a far clearer concept of the kind of refurbishment work that's required. You can also then proceed to sweep the chimney and clean any remaining elements of the hearth and back panel. The first job on your to-do list will be to contact a decent Birkenhead chimney sweep. Besides sweeping and cleaning the flue and chimney, they'll also assess the condition of the flue liner and chimney and inform you whether any portion of the flue and chimney structure needs to be replaced.
After an examination by an experienced chimney sweep, and in line with Part J of the UK's Building Regulations, work to install a new liner and/or strengthen the chimney breast may be needed. A competent craftsman with experience of the Building Regs and decent construction techniques will need to complete this work.
Once you've successfully supported the fireplace with your lintel it is now necessary to upgrade or repair the hearth. The legislation regarding hearths has changed somewhat down the years, and while in the olden days they were quite often set into floor voids, they now need to be raised at least 12.5mm above floor level if you are to abide by the current UK Building Regulations. You'll find that there's a wide selection of ready-made hearths in concrete, marble or granite, however if you have a non-standard sized fireplace you might have to opt for a custom-made hearth, which you can ask your fireplace builder in Birkenhead about.
DESIGNS AND STYLES OF FIREPLACE
You'll soon discover that you are spoilt for choice in relation to fireplaces, with the host of different choices that are available to you, as soon as you step inside a decent fireplace outlet. You should follow the advice of the fireplace company when it comes to which fireplaces will be suited to your chimney and flue, as some definitely won't be.
In selecting the fireplace design that is most appropriate for your circumstances, you will want to look at your home's age, and the look that you are trying to develop for your room or space. A wood burning stove for instance, will look awesome when set into an inglenook fireplace, which reflects the heat back into the room and emphasises its charm and elegance.
If your Birkenhead property does not have a chimney you still have options for a feature fireplace through the installation of a multi-fuel or wood burning stove. You do not have to have an existing chimney to experience a real fire, as long as you've got an outside wall which can have a flue channelled through it.
OPEN, ELECTRIC, GAS, WOOD OR MULTI-FUEL FIREPLACE?
If this style of fireplace is not suitable for your Birkenhead home, what other alternatives are out there?
Multi-Fuel Stoves - Provides you with the option of burning oil, coal, wood and gas to furnish you with a multi-purpose heater for any house in Birkenhead. One of the most well known brands of multi-fuel stoves is AGA, and these products can not only provide you with low-cost heating for the whole property, but also cooking and hot water.
Open Fireplaces - An open fireplace can be used with a huge range of fuels (wood, briquettes, smokeless coal), and establishes a great focal point for your living area. A skillfully installed open fire will be nothing like the old style smoky fireplace that was perhaps boarded up by former owners, and its glowing elegance is a welcome addition to any house in Birkenhead.
Electric Fireplaces - Electric fireplaces can be fitted safely and quickly by anybody who is reasonable competent and there are varieties which are suitable for virtually any room and property in Birkenhead. Contemporary electric fires can deliver "real" looking flame effects and even the sound of crackling wood to mimic a real fire when set into into a conventional fireplace.
Wood Burning Stoves - These have become "the in thing" in many homes in Birkenhead, and can have modern or classic styling to complement your home's decor. When used in combination with a back boiler, these types of stoves can provide added heating possibilities by connecting the heated water to a cold spot in your house by way of radiators.
Gas Fireplaces - Delivering instant heat and being more efficient (thermally) than wood burning stoves, there are a wide array of designs and styles to suit any period of property. Gas fires can only be fitted and maintained by a certified Gas Safe registered engineer, (previously CORGI registered).
Fireplace fitters can be located in the Birkenhead area, and in: Seacombe, Moreton, Prenton, Claughton, Thingwall, Egerton Park, Rock Ferry, New Ferry, Prenton East, Upton, Woodhey, Liscard, Oxton, in addition to these postcode areas: CH32 9EZ, CH30 9BW, CH41 0AA, CH41 0EA, CH41 0DT, CH25 9DU, CH30 9BE, CH41 0DD, CH41 0BL, and CH32 9DL. Birkenhead fireplace installers will typically have the dialling code 0151 and the postcode CH41.
Practical Ideas On How To Retain Your Open Fireplace And Reduce Your Heating Bills
The traditional open fireplace has lost some of its glamour as a result of environmental worries but it is still loved by many in Birkenhead. There is nothing like feeling the natural warmth of an open fireplace throughout a freezing winter evening. The fireplace provides numerous benefits for your home, but there are also some significant negative aspects that need to be fixed. Because of power costs going up so swiftly these days, your fireplace should be a reliable source of heat, not one of inefficiency. When a fire is burning, it might warm up those standing immediately in front of it, but it can actually pull warm air out of a room, making your heater work even harder. The hearth damper is expected to keep cold air from coming in to your home when you haven't got a fire in the fireplace. Unfortunately, fireplace dampers can often be inefficient in keeping warm air in the house and cold air out.
A great many property owners in Birkenhead with fireplaces do not know how it can affect heating costs. Rather than keeping the cost of heating down, it could actually do the precise reverse if one is not careful. Just consider that it's not all bad news seeing that there are techniques for making your fireplace more cost-efficient. All you need to do is just four basic things to fix your fireplace. All of these is going to make your fireplace very economical and very efficient.
The initial thing to do is to replace the existing damper with a top sealing damper. This kind of damper is set up at the top of the chimney, and acts like a storm door. It does an excellent job of retaining warm air in the house during winter months and cool air from getting out in the summertime. The seal is easy to fit, and can be bought online. A second thing which can be done is to place a fire-back at the rear of your fireplace. A fire-back is made of cast iron and it really is meant to protect the back wall from fire damage, while making your fireplace look elegant. The fire-back gets warmed up by the fire and reflects the heat back into the room, hence improving the overall efficiency of the fireplace.
Another thing that can help is a fireplace heater/fan, which heats the room air that's being circulated through an internal chamber, and blows it back towards the room. These clever devices do not produce any smoke and can be very successful in keeping your house warm and cosy. And finally, putting in glass doors, even though a bit on the expensive side, can be helpful in making your fireplace economical to run. If you do your homework, you can definitely get an excellent deal on glass doors and they're not too hard to install yourself. These glass doors create a buffer between the chimney and living space, not only making the area less for the fire to heat, but also offering protection to the inhabitants.
The information we've just given is not difficult to implement, and all of the required products can be purchased online, or from your local fireplace stockist. Just do your utmost to keep your fireplace efficient and watch your heating bill plummet.
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Fireplace Installers Near Birkenhead
Also find: Prenton East fireplace installers, Upton fireplace installers, Rock Ferry fireplace installers, Claughton fireplace installers, Moreton fireplace installers, Woodhey fireplace installers, Egerton Park fireplace installers, New Ferry fireplace installers, Seacombe fireplace installers, Prenton fireplace installers, Oxton fireplace installers, Liscard fireplace installers, Thingwall fireplace installers and more. There are companies who fit fireplaces in pretty much all of these areas. Possessing the necessary knowledge and experience, these versatile tradespeople can adeptly install fireplaces in your home. The comfort, ambiance and warmth of a fireplace in their homes are made possible for residents through the support of these dedicated experts. By simply clicking here, fireplace installation quotes are available to local property owners.
Birkenhead Fireplace Related Tasks
The selection of services and tasks that can be accomplished by your local fireplace fitter are varied and wide, and should include stuff like Victorian fireplaces in Birkenhead, fireplaces, electric fire suites, wood & multifuel stoves, Regency fireplaces, fire grate conversions in Birkenhead, chimney repairs in Birkenhead, chimney strengthening, flue lining installation in Birkenhead, outdoor fireplaces, two-sided fireplaces, marble fireplace installation, hearth fireplaces, classic fireplaces, stone fireplaces, limestone fireplace installations, fireplace refurbishment, Victorian fireplaces, cast fireplaces, inset stove installations, fireplace replacement in Birkenhead, chimney sweeping in Birkenhead, corner fireplaces, electric fireplaces, brick fireplaces, fireplace hearths, the installation of chimney cowls in Birkenhead, double-sided stove installations in Birkenhead, hearth-mounted electric fires, traditional gas fires in Birkenhead, and others not listed. Listed are just a small portion of the duties that are undertaken by a locally based fireplace fitter. You can maybe go to this QUOTE FORM and enter your details, if there are other Birkenhead fireplace requirements that you are searching for but cannot find here.
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