Fireplace Fitter Leatherhead Surrey (KT22): A good way to add a bit of charm to any Leatherhead home is by installing a brand new fireplace, or restoring an existing one. If you opt to combine your fireplace with a back boiler, you can not only take pleasure in the ambience and warmth of an open fire on those chilly winter evenings, you will also be provided with plentiful hot water.
Before you begin bashing away at a bricked-up chimney there are some things you will need to do to ensure you can safely install and use your new fireplace. Work undertaken on the chimney breasts, fireplaces, hearths and flue linings of any combustible appliances, must conform to Part J of the UK Building Regulations. Planning permission may also have to be sought before work commences if your property is in a conservation area or is listed.
PROFESSIONAL OR DIY FIREPLACE INSTALLATION?
A simple remodeling of a current fireplace can be accomplished by a skilled do-it-yourselfer, however if any building work is needed there is a possibility of encountering structural problems which will need to be dealt with professionally. You might be lucky when uncovering your old fireplace and discover you need nothing more than a thorough chimney sweep and a quick clean out of the hearth in order to get a roaring fire once more. However, a flue that is blocked and old, crumbling brickwork that needs structural reinforcement is what you're more likely to find.
A wrongly fitted fireplace can cause significant fire risk and respiratory health problems and should only be put in by a professional fireplace installer in Leatherhead with the experience and knowledge to do the work effectively. Making sure that enough oxygen is available for the fire to burn properly and efficiently is a key aspect of the Building Regulations for fireplaces. An accumulation of poisonous carbon monoxide fumes can result in a room where there is inadequate airflow, and death or serious injury is possible when a fire doesn't burn effectively.
To effectively get over any airflow issues, vents could be fitted around the room during a fireplace installation, to ensure suitable levels of oxygen are able to reach the fire. To enhance air circulation inside blocked or unused chimney flues, your fireplace installation company might need to fit some flue vents to prevent condensed air becoming trapped and producing stains and damp spots.
BEFORE WORK STARTS
An enormous amount of soot and other grime can be discharged from a blocked up fireplace when opening it up for restoration. It's advisable to remove any rugs, furniture and carpets from an area where you're going to open up an old fireplace, to avoid them from being damaged by grime, soot and dust that will be disturbed during the fireplace installation and chimney cleaning work. If you are carrying out a full restoration of a room or property, the fireplace should be opened up before any decoration or plastering works are tackled. This will help to avoid any discolouring damage by soot and dirt to any previously completed renovation work.
CONSTRUCTION & STRUCTURAL WORK
Once the fireplace has been successfully opened up and exposed, you will have a much clearer concept of the sort of renovation work that needs to be carried out. You can then also proceed to sweep the chimney and clean any repairable parts of the hearth and back panel. You should now get hold of your chimney sweep, if you haven't already done so, to come and clean the old chimney and fireplace. A professional chimney sweep will first clean the flue and whilst doing this can inspect the structural condition of the chimney and offer you guidance on whether you need a new flue liner.
All of the current UK Building Regulations should be complied with, if you need to install a new flue liner or strengthen the chimney. This sort of work should be done by a qualified craftsman with experience of the appropriate Building Regulations and decent construction practices.
In buildings that are older you might discover that the exposed fireplace is bigger than your requirements, which will mean that a concrete supporting lintel will be required to modify the opening. The updating, repair and installation of the hearth can go ahead as soon as the supporting lintel is in position. You might find the original hearth has been sunken into a void in the floor, however to conform to current UK Building Regulations it is required to be raised at least 12.5mm above normal floor level. You can select from a variety of favourite sized hearths to match the decor of your home, or there are tailor-made solutions to fit most sizes and styles of fireplace. Ask your Leatherhead fireplace builder about what's available.
FIREPLACE DESIGNS AND STYLES
Browsing on the web or visiting a nearby fireplace showroom will give you a sense of the a huge variety of different styles and designs of fireplace for you to pick from for your home. The advice and suggestions from your installation team, which will hinge on your specific requirements, will help you to pick a fireplace that is both perfect for your existing chimney and flue, and suited to your home's decor.
Your current decor, the look you are aiming to create and in some situations, the age of your home in Leatherhead, will to some extent affect whether you opt for a multi-fuel stove, a wood burner or an open fireplace. By way of example, the perfect backdrop to a cast iron wood-burner stove is an inglenook fireplace, which not only puts a focus on its charm and character but is also effective in reflecting the heat back into the room.
A wood-burning stove is also a splendid choice if you don't have a chimney breast in your Leatherhead home. You do not need a chimney structure to enjoy an authentic fire, providing that you've got an external wall through which a flue from the stove can be routed.
WOOD, ELECTRIC, MULTI-FUEL, GAS OR OPEN FIREPLACE?
A flickering fire on a cold evening creates an ambience and charm that can't be matched, but what are the other available options to fit in your lovely new fireplace in Leatherhead?
Wood Burning Stoves - A wide variety of different styles to suit any age of house in Leatherhead, and, if needed, can even be free standing. If used in conjunction with a back boiler can provide steaming hot water to heat radiators or for use around the house.
Open Fireplaces - This sort of fireplace can be used with an assortment of solid fuels, and provides an excellent focal point for your living area. Being a far cry from the old style smoky fireplace, an expertly fitted open fire can provide a warm and toasty atmosphere in any Leatherhead home.
Multi-Fuel Stoves - Using a variety of fuels such as coal, wood, oil or gas, a multi-fuel stove can be made into an attractive focal point in your kitchen or lounge. One of the most recognised brands of multi-fuel stoves is AGA, and these can provide not only low-cost heat for the whole property, but also cooking facilities and hot water.
Gas Fireplaces - There are an assortment of styles to complement any property in Leatherhead, and as they provide immediate heat, they're more thermally efficient than multi-fuel or wood burning stoves in general. Gas fires can only be maintained and fitted by a certified Gas Safe registered engineer, (formerly CORGI registered).
Electric Fireplaces - Anyone who is relatively competent can safely and quickly install one of these fireplaces, and the wide assortment of models make these the obvious choice for householders in Leatherhead. When inset into a conventional fireplace, today's electric fires can mimic an actual fire, with "real" looking flame effects and even the crackling sound of wood.
Fireplace installers can be found in Langley Vale, Westhumble, Burgh Heath, Downside, Mickleham, Givens Grove, Headley, Martyr's Green, Fetcham, Brockham, Ranmore Common, Betchworth, Ranmore, in these nearby postcodes: KT22 0EF, KT22 7EN, KT22 2EW, KT22 0AU, KT22 7DF, KT22 2DB, KT22 2GG, KT22 7FZ, KT22 2BJ, and KT22 2FE, plus in Leatherhead itself. A couple of pointers which suggest that a fireplace service comes from the Leatherhead area is if they've got the postcode KT22 and the telephone dialling code 01372.
Natural Stone Fireplaces
If you want to really make an impression with your fireplace, there is no better way than to build one out of natural stone. This is a good way to bring a feel of the outdoors, in! There could already be some natural stone features on the exterior areas of your property, a boundary wall or stone facade, for instance? This might be a way to complement those features internally.
Either full-depth stone or stone cladding can be used to create a stone fireplace. Your taste and budget might influence your decision. Also, granite, sandstone, marble, limestone, slate or quartz, are just some of the different types of stone that can be used to build a fireplace.
How your finished fireplace looks, will depend on the methodology used by the stonemason or tradesman who builds it, the kind of stone that's used and the building method. If you've got a concept of just what you want, get some pictures and show them to your fireplace installer before they begin.
There's little doubt that natural stone fireplaces are usually more suitable for older properties, and may be somewhat too striking and overwhelming for the modern home. But the choice, as they say, is yours to make.
The Best Way To Preserve Your Open Fireplace And Reduce Your Heating Bills
The age-old fireplace seems to have lost a certain amount of of its allure because of environmental concerns but it is still favoured by many householders in Leatherhead. Sitting beside the comfort of an open fireplace, revives many special memories for lots of people. The open fireplace can offer numerous benefits for your property, but there are also some important drawbacks that may need to be addressed. With energy costs increasing annually, your fireplace must give out heat in a very cost-effective way. When a fire is burning, it might give warmth to those standing near it, but it can in fact pull warm air out of your room, making your heater work even harder. In the event you don't have a fire, the damper is designed to keep heat in. However, dampers sometimes have an inadequate seal, so cold air gets in, and warm air goes out.
Many householders in Leatherhead who have a fireplace do not know how it can influence heating costs. Rather than preserving resources, and heating costs, it can often be adding hundreds of pounds of energy expenditure. Just consider that it's not all hopeless as there are options for making your fireplace far more economical. Pretty much all you need to do is basically four basic things improve the performance of your fireplace. These definitely will make your current fireplace a lot more effective, and reduce your energy bills.
The first thing that should be done is to replace the existing damper with a top sealing damper. This type of damper is positioned towards the top of your chimney and helps to stop rain and snow from coming in. It does an excellent job of keeping warm air in the house during winter months and cool air from getting out in the summer months. Its not that hard to put in and may be easily bought from a fireplace supplier or on the internet. An additional thing you will be able to do is install a fire-back in the back of your fireplace. This is a cast iron plate that's designed to enhance the room decor, while shielding the back wall from being damaged by the fire. The fire-back absorbs the heat from a fire, and sends it back towards the room, increasing the overall efficiency of the fireplace.
Another option is to buy a fireplace heater/fan, which draws air into the room and warms it up. These clever devices don't discharge any smoke and should be very effective in keeping your property warm. The last thing you're able to do is to fix glass doors, which might be your biggest expense. Browsing around, you will be able to locate a good deal, and with clear instructions, you could possibly install them on your own. These doors help to keep the heat from leaking out and also it keeps pets and children from getting burnt.
These suggestions aren't that difficult to accomplish and you can obtain most of the items from the internet. Make the most of your fireplace and observe your energy bill fall.
Chimney Sweep Leatherhead
If you have a stove or an open fire in your house, it is best to have the chimney swept on a regular basis. Chimneys need to be swept and cleaned at least once yearly to keep them safe and working correctly.
To ensure that the job is being conducted properly, it's always a good idea to bring in a professional Leatherhead chimney sweep. As well as cleaning your chimney, the chimney sweep will be able to identify any problems that exist with your chimney, so that these can be dealt with in a timely fashion.
Failure to sweep your chimney in Leatherhead can soon result in an accumulation of ash, soot and creosote which can cause chimney fires. A blocked chimney can also cause carbon monoxide fumes to be drawn back into your house, a hazardous situation that you want to avoid at all costs.
Make sure that you pick a dependable chimney sweep in Leatherhead, and check that they're covered by public liability insurance in case of damages or accidents. CLICK HERE to get a chimney sweeps quote in Leatherhead. You can also obtain chimney sweeping services in areas nearby.
Leatherhead Skip Hire Services
When undertaking any almost refurbishment work on your house or garden in Leatherhead, there is bound to be a certain amount of waste generated that will need to be taken away. Fireplace installation isn't like building a property extension, where huge levels of waste can be created, however there could still be a certain amount of waste that you will need to deal with. While some tradesmen will be willing to take away any waste materials, many will leave it for you to deal with.
The most popular technique that people in Leatherhead use to dispose of such waste is to hire a skip from a nearby skip hire company. Skips come in various different depending on your needs, and deciding which skip to hire is vital. You can choose between a mini-skip, a midi-skip, a builders skip or a roll-on roll-off skip, or you could even go with a skip bag.
You can GO HERE for the latest skip hire prices in Leatherhead.
Leatherhead Fireplace Related Tasks
There are a number of different tasks that can be accomplished by your local Leatherhead fireplace fitter including cast iron fireplace installation, stone fireplace installation, Regency fireplaces Leatherhead, three-sided fireplaces, fireplace hearths Leatherhead, fireplace fitting, gas fireplaces, inglenook fireplace, freestanding stoves Leatherhead, wood burning fireplace installations, period fireplaces Leatherhead, chimney strengthening Leatherhead, fireplace packages, chimney repairs, wood burning stove installation, cheap fireplaces, 2-sided fireplaces in Leatherhead, the installation of chimney cowls, marble fireplaces, the installation of modern fireplaces in Leatherhead, multifuel stoves Leatherhead, flue liners Leatherhead, chimney lining, the installation of outdoor fireplaces Leatherhead, elm fireplaces Leatherhead, corner fireplaces Leatherhead, fireplaces in Leatherhead, limestone fireplace installations, classic fireplaces, contemporary fireplaces Leatherhead, wood burning fireplaces, fireplace restoration, cast iron fireplaces Leatherhead, bespoke fireplaces Leatherhead, fake fireplace installations, and lots more. In regards to what's actually available, this is in no way a comprehensive list of what can be available from the local fireplace fitter. Leatherhead providers who are operating in the area will inform you of the whole range of fireplace services that are available.
Searching Online
There is no doubt that your initial instinct when you are looking for services in Leatherhead is to use the web and "Google it". With well known search engines such as Bing, Google, Yahoo or Ask, it is simple to get a number of on the spot results. One drawback is usually that the opening page results displayed by the principal search engines might not be exactly the ones that you were after. Most home owners in Leatherhead, when trying to locate fireplace installers will go to the search engine and type "fireplace installation in Leatherhead", "fireplace installation Leatherhead", "Leatherhead fireplace installation" or "fireplace installation near me".
It's best to understand that the four top results are frequently PPC (Pay Per Click) adverts and a lot of the other listings on the first page are going to be directories like Scoot, Yell, Yelp or Gumtree, or entries from major lead generation sites such as My Builder, Local Heroes, TrustaTrader, Rated People, Quotatis or Checkatrade. So as to uncover the web sites of actual fireplace installers, you will need to scroll to page 2 and 3 or maybe even lower down the search engine listings. If you aren't able to identify anybody acceptable in the search listings, it is perfectly okay to use one of the trader vetting sites such as Rated People or Local Heroes, where you will be able to obtain free price quotes, check out client appraisals and study reviews.
Fireplace Installers Near Leatherhead
Also find: Headley fireplace installers, Burgh Heath fireplace installers, Downside fireplace installers, Brockham fireplace installers, Westhumble fireplace installers, Betchworth fireplace installers, Ranmore Common fireplace installers, Ranmore fireplace installers, Martyr's Green fireplace installers, Langley Vale fireplace installers, Mickleham fireplace installers, Fetcham fireplace installers, Givens Grove fireplace installers and more. There are companies who fit fireplaces in most of these towns and localities. To adeptly install fireplaces in your home, these seasoned tradespeople possess the necessary experience and know-how. Residents, with the help of these committed professionals, can experience the ambiance, warmth and comfort a fireplace adds to their living areas. Local residents can get fireplace installation estimates by simply going here. Do you need to get a fireplace installed on your home? Don't delay - get a quote today!
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Fireplace installation in KT22 area, telephone code 01372.
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