Fireplace knockout and Wood burner installation in Kingston St Mary, Taunton.

This fireplace knockout involves enlarging the chamber to a 900 x 900 opening. We render the sides and plaster the chimney breast. Additionally, we cut and fit a slate hearth and install a 5 KW wood burner.

The house is a 1930s end of terrace in Kingston St Mary near Taunton. Our customers want to create a focal point in their lounge. The existing fireplace opening is small to accommodate a gas fire. Because it is a 1930s dwelling, we know that there is a much larger opening potential.

We remove 15 bags of rubble to realise the 900 x 900 original opening size. Our customers want the old bricks at the rear left and the sides rendered with sand and cement. However, the sides are not straight so we form the opening with skim beads and apply two coats of render to straighten them. Besides this, we apply a thick coat of bonding to the chimney breast followed by a coat of plaster skim. Prior to the render and plaster, we cut a slate hearth so that it fits perfectly in one piece. Furthermore, we apply one coat of slate oil to bring out the colour.

How large can my fireplace knockout be?

Most fireplaces can be enlarged. However, this is not always the case. Generally speaking, you can always raise the height by putting a new lintel in. The same cannot be said about the width though. Most homes built before the 1950s will generally have a decent original opening size coupled with a class 1 chimney. A lot of homes built after the 1950s have fireplaces constructed to use gas fires and a class 2 chimney. Some fireplace chambers have a cavity on either side and cannot be enlarged without major work. Furthermore, it is worth remembering that your chimney supports a lot of weight. You must know what you are doing when enlarging a fireplace.

Wood burner installations in Taunton.

We install the extremely popular Mi-fires Loughrigg 5 KW wood burning stove. We sweep the chimney, then drop the flexible flue liner down. After fitting the register plate, we connect the stove to the vitreous pipe and seal it with fire cement. The stove is proportionate in this fireplace knockout. We like to see a minimum of 150mm at the sides and 300mm above the stove. This is both for aesthetic reasons and stove efficiency. With a gap around your stove, more heat will enter the room.

Glowing Stoves carry out all manner of wood-burning and multi-fuel stove installations in Taunton. We are based in Taunton and work mainly within a thirty-mile radius. We sell and install log burners, multi fuel stoves, fireplaces, chimney liners, twin wall chimney systems, chimneypots, etc.

Glowing Stoves are HETAS approved engineers and will install and certify your appliance. We have £2 million public liability insurance. Please contact us for the best price on your new stove. We can advise on the wood burner or multi-fuel stove. Glowing Stoves offer FREE surveys.