Open fireplace....worth using?

Paul. W

Paul. W

Paul. W

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Joined
29 Dec 2009
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522
The new house we are moving into this weekend has an open fireplace, and the landlord is happy for us to use it. However it hasnt been used in a long time, and its up to use to sort it out if we want to.

Obviously its going to need a good sweep, and a fireproof rug for infront of it, and possibly a fireguard. I cant see myself lighting it up every day as such, but would like to use it for the odd weekend, and especially over Christmas :)

Does anyone here use an open fireplace at home? Are they worth the hassle? Any tips?
 
We use one in the winter. Gets the room nice and warm.

Problems are: Smokeless fuel is crap. Without a controllable draught you get one burn option - full power! It is messy to clean up and you really don't want to keep it burning unattended.

Advantages: If you can get logs for free/cheap (or buy a paper-log maker and have access to lots of new paper/paper) it costs hardly anything to run. It really does heat the room up and the room above it (via heating the chimney breast). Oh and it is very romantic and great for a bonk in front of.
 
I find an open fire a wonderful thing. If it's got a good cast iron surround it'll heat up and keep on radiating heat for hours. There's something quite romantic about it, but irrespective of that they do generate some really good heat - and if you're sensible you can buy cheap fuel for them too. Many times I have fallen asleep in front of the fire - the heat it generates is much more pleasant than central heating IMO. It might not heat up the room as quickly or as much as central heating, but it does enough to take the edge off and require less central heating to be switched on.

As long as you're sensible and take precautions (i.e. ambers spitting and flying across room) and you have a good draw from the chimney you should be able to get a good use out of it.
 
As others have said, fires are cracking addition to a room and generate a decent amount of heat :).

I personally think they are well worth the extra effort involved, especially once you've experienced it on a cold winters evening.

Make sure you get the chiney swept, get a fireguard, fireproof rug, so cheap fuel and away you go :).
 
We've got an fireplace which I opened up when we bought the house. We use it pretty much constantly throughout the winter.

Before using it, make sure you get a builder to check the pot on the roof. It may have been capped over, be cracked/damaged or have a bird's nest in it. You don't want to discover that when you first light the fire! Also, definately get the chimney swept if it hasn't been done in a few years.

We mostly burn wood in ours with a bit of coal when it's available cheap. We find that we can get a good wood pile collected over the summer when people are giving away wood for free (check freecycle etc or make friends with a tree surgeon). This usually lasts us through to the Autumn. If you buy wood then it can get expensive.

You also have an excuse to buy an axe :)
 
LordSplodge said:
=Oh and it is very romantic and great for a bonk in front of.
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Brilliant :D

ZombieFan said:
We mostly burn wood in ours with a bit of coal when it's available cheap. We find that we can get a good wood pile collected over the summer when people are giving away wood for free (check freecycle etc or make friends with a tree surgeon). This usually lasts us through to the Autumn. If you buy wood then it can get expensive.

You also have an excuse to buy an axe :)
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Yeah, i could do with sourcing some sort of local logs. Also, do people use wood and coal at the same time? I have a friend who works at the power station and has happily offered to get me coal. (can even pick what country its from lol)

And I DO need an axe! :cool:

Ill take a picture of the fireplace tonight and upload it. Although it was only a brief look last night, I couldnt see a 'damper' anywhere. Are all chimneys meant to have these?
 
Get the chimney swept and have it smoke tested where they light a smoke 'bomb' in the fire place and check the upstairs rooms and loft for leakage as well as the out side.
Check to see if you are in a smoke control zone before using logs or smokey coal. The trouble with burning just logs is getting the temperature right as you can produce tar and other oils which stick to the chimney sides and have a habit of combustion after years of build up
 
peterattheboro said:
How much is one of these to install?

We have a pretty standard fireplace at the moment but it's got zero character.

Would love an open fireplace!
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There used to be grants/discounts from The Coal Board to have a fire re installed at one time. You can do it yourself once the chimney is opened up
 
Forde said:
Splodge, you said you wouldn't tell anyone about us! :mad:
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Sorry old chum. it kind of slipped out.

Blue Cypher said:
Thats the only reason you need right there :D
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Paul. W said:
Brilliant :D
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I should warn you that embers spitting out can be a danger. I had one land on my bottom whilst I was doing the deed. The wife found it very amusing but it did cause deflation... :D

Yeah, i could do with sourcing some sort of local logs. Also, do people use wood and coal at the same time? I have a friend who works at the power station and has happily offered to get me coal. (can even pick what country its from lol)
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I burn wood and coal at the same time. No problem at all. In fact we find it better than just coal or just wood.

Ill take a picture of the fireplace tonight and upload it. Although it was only a brief look last night, I couldnt see a 'damper' anywhere. Are all chimneys meant to have these?
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Chimneys don't have dampers. Fireplaces do and a plain old open fire doesn't tend to have dampers - that's why you cannot really controll the burn. It is a shame as with a full damper you could leave the fire running all day/overnight without supervision or the need to add lots of fuel.
 
We used to use the one in my house, kept me so cozy during the winter when I was younger, sat in front of it playing Animal Crossing...

Ah......

/memories.
 
georges said:
We've done wood and coal together, the coal keeps it going pretty well.
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Keeps the heat level nice and high. Does end up with more fuel being needed though.

We've been producing compressed paper bricks over summer. Supposed to burn for a couple of hours each and it makes good use of waste paper.
 
My old pub used to have one and i just remember through winter sitting in front with my brandy and some company and they always feel relaxing and soothing!

I think when/if i ever get my own place its the first edition im putting in next to the retro leather wingbacks! :p
 
Ask the landlord if he would consider getting a wood/coal burning stove fitted in it, these radiate the heat so much better. My parents use one in their house in Wales and it can literally heat nearly the whole house and if managed carefully can be kept burning constantly even throughout the night.
 
We have one at home its fantastic. Not to mention it heats the hot water for showers etc :D Although if you leave me in control of the fire hot water comes out of the taps almost boiling :p
 
Windle said:
Ask the landlord if he would consider getting a wood/coal burning stove fitted in it, these radiate the heat so much better. My parents use one in their house in Wales and it can literally heat nearly the whole house and if managed carefully can be kept burning constantly even throughout the night.
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Yeah I'm looking at getting a wood burner in the living room. Better manageable heating. Keeping the open fire in the study though as it has a much better ambiance.
 
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