Key Post: Fireplaces

Hi,

anyone got any recommendations for where to get a new fireplace and what type of fireplace to get? I am in Sth. Co. Dublin. I currently have a disused open fire with surrounding ugly marble fireplace (early 70's style). I want something new.

The fashion is for those hole-in-the-wall style ones that don't have any surrounding fireplace i.e. just a closed gas fire with some glass front (I presume they vent up the chimney)

My questions:

1 - what is the most thermally efficient solution?
2 - what's a good balance between purchase price, installation price and thermall efficiency?
3 - where is a good place to make the purchase?

All help appreciated?

Fireplaces

Ring around. Dublin prices were far higher than prices in the country when I looked at this. You can also pick up nice antique surrounds at auctions and house clearances at reasonable prices. There is a place in Kilkenny that specialises, name escapes me.

Retailers here
www.fireplace.ie/fireplace/Main/Consumer.htm

these guys are in greystones
www.fentonfires.ie/

Fennells in Arklow are opening a bigger showhouse on the quays. Good doing business with.

new fireplace

There are no energy efficient fire places , even with a pumped (el.energy!) backboiler the best you can achieve is about 15% efficiency .Check www.irish-energy.ie .
15 % efficiency means that you pay/pollute 6 times more than necessary . Or-for the simple mind-you buy 6 bags of coal but bring only 1 of them home , the rest is lost .

waste of energy

Heinbloed,

that level of inefficiency (i.e. 85% inefficiency) is amazing. So, from both a monetary point of view and an environmental point of view fires are a complete waste ... apart from the fact they look nice. Why are houses still built with fireplaces?

Would it not be better to install a better burner and forget about the fire, fireplace and chminey?

who needs a chimney

My living room needs a focal point and that is going to be a fireplace. I'm not going to let a lack of chimney get in the way of that.
Without the fireplace it looks like a waiting room.

15% thermal efficiency on cheap fuel is still cheaper than electricity. If you are in the midlands you'll run a fire for a long time on Turf.

Re: who needs a chimney

Try fireplaces direct in Drogheda. I couldn't belivev how cheap they were compared to Dublin prices. In some case they were 800-900Euros cheaper than the exact same model in shops in Dublin. They came out on time & installed the fireplace with absolutely no problems.


www.fireplacesdirect.ie

fireplaces/energy efficiency

heinbloed - I was shocked when the plumber who serviced my boiler last week told me how inefficient "back boilers" actually were. He also told me they are no longer installing them and existing installations require to be phased out (E.U. regulations) over the next few years.

by chance ?

In the medias I learnt today that of all industrialised countrys Ireland and GB have the highest rate of astma .
I think these are also the only two countrys where an open fire is standard feature of a home .........
So ," cheap,good loking " heating is very expensive , Asthma is a lifelong condition and costs a lot to the economy .
" Marie " is right , in most EU countrys open fires as heating source are illegal already .

Argos brochure

Saw in the Argos Sale Brochure that they have a cheap stone effect fireplace on sale.
The fireplace looked OK in the picture but I don't know how offensive it would look once it arrived.
They also had brass electric inset fires on sale.
Combine this with a 99 Euro gilted over mantle mirror from Argos and you might have something that looks acceptable for about €530.
6 months interest free credit available too!
AFAIK you can return it no questions asked if you don't like the look of it.

Efficiency

You should take a look at electric fireplaces. I know this brings up visions of red bars & cheap plastic coalbeds - but you should see how realistic they look nowadays. That solves your focal point and efficiency issues (100% efficient). The best ones in my opinion are in Hearth & Home (Fonthill) and carry the Faber brand - but they are larger that the typical Irish 16" fireplace. Otherwise DID & ESB both in Blanchardstown have a great range during the winter.

electric fire

Hi " Geoffreyod " and " %%WORD3%9 " !
Efficiency was asked for , not wasting .
Electric heating is the worst form of using electricity efficiently , check www. irish-energy.ie .
Electric heating is the most expensive form of heating , ditto .
Electricity is the most polluting energy form available to us .

who said you had to turn it on.

The room that I am considering putting the fire into has a Storage Heater.
The only thing that will normally run on the electric fire, if at all is the light, not the heating element.

Electricity is not the most polluting energy available if it comes from renewable sources.
Shortly consumers will be able to choose who supplies their electricity and by what means it is generated.
Electricity generated from Wind is CO2 neutral which is more than can be said for Oil, Gas, Peat or Coal.

Electric heating can be switched on and off in an instant so that compensates to a certain extent for the expense during use. I have only electric heating and my bills aren't actually that high because I use it only when and as I need it.

nothing comes from nothing

Hi Geoffreyod !
Since we have no choice where it comes from and the mix in the line contains only 1 or 2 % of wind energy all electricity use is damaging our environment , except you create your own .Building-whatsoever-is causing damage,either in the steel plant , the weir,or in the solar panel factory . Workers have to be transported , shareholders to be satisfied and profits to be made i. e. consumption to be financed .
In Germany , for example , the automotive industry used to be the biggest buyer for steel . Not anymore, now the windmill industry is the biggest buyer .Have you lived near a steel plant ?! Ask the people of Cobh ...
There are LESS polluting forms of energy production , yes , there are less war causing forms of energy production , yes , but there is no " good " energy use , no " CO2 neutral " human behavior at all .
If all the people of this planet would use the amount of energy that you use ( no insulting to be meant ) we would have made this planet as dead as a dodo a long time ago . So to give our human
race a few more happy years there is only one option : use as little as possible , don't switch the light on for fun and don't believe in those who try to tell us that there is a way to get out of the trap , this planet is simply overpopulated i. e. not sustainable .
Did you know that a toddler in Western Europe uses 1 and a halve truck loads of diapers until the age of 18 month ? The energy just to produce those is more than
an African person with the age of 18 years will have used in total in his life time , if he or she gets that old at all.....
That we will have a choice of suppliers in future wont change the damage caused by our life stile , it just gives us some more time to go on as usual .The absolution for the blind so to speak .

No pleasing some

I offer a suggestion that satisfies the original posters requirement and best satisifies your environmetal concerns and you are still not happy.
Directed original poster to cheap fireplace, even told him\her about a nice overmantle mirror that might complement\compliment it.
Satisfied your concerns about asthma although I do feel that electric heating does dry out the air too much.
Satisfied your concerns about efficiency because you don't have to turn it on -just switch the light on to give the illusion that it's giving out heat.
Even suggested an interest free method of acquiring the Fireplace.
There is no pleasing some people.

The original poster, Santa, wants a fire so deal with it. I've suggested the most environmentally friendly solution to him so in this matter I've done more for mother earth than you have.

Heinbloed, check out the GRUNDIG GR160W RADIO on www.dixons.co.uk. I think you'll appreciate it. I've got one of them. They're only €14.99 and way cool.

I thought the steel plant in Cork was there for the benefit of the workers and not just the pollution but the steel was a by-product of the operation.

efficiency

Who would blame the messenger ?

heat

i have a new house and have put in an open fire and a back boiler! have lived all my life in a house with the same and neither i nor any of my siblings (4) have any respiratory condition, i dont think open fires are the sole cause of this - how bout the cars

Re: heat

Geoffreyod
If you just want a focal point, how about installing a fireplace and setting the turf in and never lighting it? Way cheaper than looking at an expensive electric light...

Stanley stoves

How about a stanley stove. These look great, in my opinion, and are much much more efficent on solid fuel. They also come in oil burner option.

Re: >>New Fireplace

Some other posts

guest
Unregistered User
looking for a fireplace

Where would I get a reasonably priced fire-place - everywhere seems to be rocket. I am looking for a wooden fireplace.

sinead76
Registered User
fireplaces

car boot sales are great for cheap but ok value fireplaces. what part of the country are u in?

trishka
Registered User
Re: fireplaces

I am also on the lookout for a good value fireplace as well at the moment and got a catalogue from a company called Doorhandles today. They seem to be quite good value as they have fireplaces from €550 ex vat. Their email is 'doorhandles@eircom.net' you could drop them a line.

Cassidy
Unregistered User
Fireplaces

Trishka, where are "doorhandles today" based ? do they have a phone number or web address.

guest
Unregistered User
fireplaces

Sinead,

I am in County Wicklow.

sinead76
Registered User
car boot sale

The car boot sale i refer to is in cuffesgrange co. kilkenny, a few miles outside the city. They deliver, payment is on delivery and i don't think a deposit is required. The people selling them are travellers but i assume they're legit because they sell such a high volume of them and i have no reason to believe they are dodgy. I bought a fireplace for €400 from a settled traveller who runs a furniture shop and was offered a range of similar fireplaces in cuffesgrange for round about the same price. Price started at €650 but i said (truthfully) that i already had one and walked away and the man kept following me and knocking down the price. His "final offer" was €400 or €450

guest
fireplaces

Sinead,

I seen one in the market recently and apparently most of their woods are not treated and come away from the wall eventually. They are also supposed to warp. Any truth in this? What type of fireplace did you buy.

trishka
Registered User
Re: fireplaces

Doorhandles are based in the Clare/Limerick area. I haven't bought off them yet so not sure what quality etc is like but its probably worth checking them out. The fireplaces in the catalogue were mostly made of oak and driftwood. I don't have the catalogue with me but if there is a contact number on it I will post it tomorrow.

mts
Registered User
fireplaces

B&Q Liffey Valley have a wooden fireplace for €157 at the moment. The pack includes the surround, back panel and hearth.

sinead76
Registered User
My wooden fireplace

I was thinking the price was too good to be true but with so much expense of new house i just needed something to put there. I hardly ever even light the fire anyway. I like the look of my fireplace and a lot of people have commented on it. It's only in the house 4 months so i can't say yet whether it'll last or not. I would have loved a marble fireplace but my sitting room is so small it wouldn't do it justice

snoops
looking for a fireplace

I took am looking for a fireplace but specifically for the longer old fashioned type. You know the ones that have two fires back to back resulting in an off centred fire.

I would really like to modernise the fireplace, house was built in the 70's though so don't want to go completely modern.

any ideas?

guest
fires

You could try Fentons in Greystones.

Gina
Fireplaces direct

If you`re near Drogheda,try fireplaces direct just off the M1 in Newgrange Business Park. Pricier than all of the above but very reputable & fast and friendly service. Lots of fireplaces to choose from too from elaborately carved marble surrounds to quirky unconventional styles.

See [broken link removed]

Not connected with the company. Just a very happy customer. Bought a fireplace last Feb with wooden surround,castiron inset and granite hearth for 1,000 E.

Gina

guest
a company called doorhandles

I was wondering does anybody know any information about a company called doorhandles. As the name says, they sell door handles but they also sell fireplaces. I was just wondering has anybody bought a fireplace from them, and if so, are they happy with the quality.

ninsaga
Frequent poster
Re: a company called doorhandles
www.doorhandles.co.uk/??


trishka
Registered User
Re: a company called doorhandles

Hi Guest,

Although i haven't bought off Doorhandles yet so cant comment on quality, service etc I did contact them a few weeks ago after seeing an ad in The Buy and Sell and they sent me a catalogue out. The fireplaces in the catalogue seem to be quite good value. The following contact details are on the catalogue Email= doorhandles@eircom.net, Ian= 086-2998316 or 086-3466874. Address=Cappagh South, Sixmilebridge, Co Clare and their showroom is in Doon Co Limerick, you have to ring beforehand to visit the showroom. I would also be interested on hearing from anyone who have bought a fireplace from them as I have just bought a house thats needs some work done including a new fireplace.

jister
Registered User
fireplaces

A friend of mine purchased a fireplace and handles of this company and hasn't had any problems, that was about a year ago.

They have a big shed full of crates of stuff with a few layed out along the back wall.

They have a limited range but probably buy in bulk to get the discounts. Shops will only have one of everything so they pay more for it, I assume.

Re: >>New Fireplace

Some other posts

trishka
Registered User
rust on iron fireplace

I was given a black 'cast iron' type of fireplace last week but it had been left out in the persons garden and as a result has some rust on it. Has anyone any advise on how I can clean/treat it to get the rust off?

thanks

eamonn66
rust


Either have it sand/bead blasted or treat it with a chemical rust converter . i can recommend one called jenolite if you can find it.

quotient
rust

Same thing happened to me a few years ago. I sanded the rust and painted with a rust thingy similar to previous post and then painted with black Hammerite and not only was it as good as new but it is still perfect 3 years later.