Choosing a stove
Are you new to stoves? We know it can be a daunting task sifting through all the information available on stoves and liners, so we have tried to help you by giving you a step by step guide to choosing.
So sit back, relax and run through our guide.
Step 1
Fireplace and Chimney
Do you have an existing fireplace or chimney?
An easy question if you are using your fireplace currently. However in older properties, the fireplace may have been bricked up and therefore will require opening up again to accommodate your new stove. Normally a stove needs a gap of at least 150mm either side, 75mm behind and 300mm above.
If you have an existing fireplace, it is highly likely that you will have a working chimney. However to make sure your stove burns efficiently and correctly, the chimney is lined with a stainless steel flexible liner.
What’s the difference between a chimney and a flue: if the chimney is a polo mint then the flue is the hole.
Don’t have a fireplace or chimney?
Not to worry – you have a couple of options.
Firstly you can build a new chimney, which is fine if you are at the planning stage of a new build or extension.
However most new stoves will go into existing properties and that’s where the second option is used – a twin wall flue system. This is 2 metal metal tubes protected with about an inch of insulation.
A flue system ideally needs to finish above the highest point of your ridge on the roof. It also need to get thereby taking the simplest vertical route with no bends greater than 45 degrees.
Step 2
Size of Stove
In order to work this out, you start with the measurements of your room.
Take the length, width and height of your room. Remember you are only measuring the room where the stove is and not the area where you would like to heat eg the whole house! For example, how do you measure an open plan room? As a rule of thumb it is better to concentrate on the main area, where you intend to sit around the stove. We can help you on this when we carry out our free home survey.
Once you have your measurements pop them into our stove size calculator and this will give you a rough idea of the size you are looking at.
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Step 3
What are you going to burn?
There are a couple of options here – wood or multi-fuel. Most of you will want to just burn wood. However if you want to burn smokeless or household coal as well, then you will need a multi-fuel stove.
Step 4
Style of Stove
There are a huge selection of stoves on the market nowadays ranging from traditional, modern to contemporary. You haven’t even got to match the stove to the room, you can mix and match. The choice is yours…….
