Fireplace help?

Folks

I need help! I had decided on a fireplace for our new house and to cut a long story short - I can't use it!!

So, I am now left with a 55 inch wide opening, 57 inch wide opening (yes, these are correct!! and I do mean inches!!). There is a 4 inch mantle in the blockwork at present. Because of the mantle I don't know what to do as a standard fireplace cannot be put in place unless I block up to the ceiling but then the depth of the opening is also huge!!

Anyone got any ideas on what I could do - I would like a nice marble Victorian fireplace but even if I get a fireplace big enough - the opening is too big????

So now my fab 40 ft sitting room is going to be a disaster - any ideas welcome!!

Thanks

Coppeen!

Whoa!

Your post is unclear. Are you talking about an open fireplace? Do you mean you had the builders put in a non standard chimney breast? Or just that the opening is too big?

What do you mean by a "4-inch mantle in the blockwork"?

If the opening is too big for a standard fireplace insert you're going to have to either modify the opening or have an insert made.

Slow down and tell us more.

Hi Extopia

OK - I had the builders put in a non-standard chimney breast and opening. So both are big!! So where the mantle would be is a 4 inch ledge (for want of a better word) where a large wooden mantle would have sat.

My original plan was to have a sleeper mantle and an very large solid fuel stove with just plain plastered walls on either side - which was fine when I was having rustic style decor except now we have changed to a more victorian look because the house doesn't really suit rustic. I could just buy a victorian marble fireplace but a) the proportions would look odd and b) because of the mantle element I would too much of the width of the room by coming out that far.

I was think I could probably raise the hearth, put in an ivory enamel stove, and still put in a more finished wood mantle. However, both sides of the fireplace would need something to look finished and need to be quite flat so as not to take up too much space.

This stove might JUST fit in??

http://www.robeys.co.uk/jotul/jotul_f400.htm

Thanks again!

Pitsy

First you must decide whether you really want a stove or a fireplace.

If it was me I would get the builder back and ask him to reduce the size of the chimney breast and opening. It wouldn't be that hard to do (although he might cry about it). Why compromise? Now is the time to tackle this rather than later.

Good luck.

cant really figure out what you mean, but rather than a stove, why not get a surround victorian style and do brick work around the actuall opening, i.e back and sides of chimey opening, and then place a nice ornate grate on the heart, in the opening, if you know what i mean. was fire place shopping myself recently and know exactly what i mean in my head! Issues with heat loss from such a wide opening?? check out this website, 2 pictures on the right illustrate what i mean! [broken link removed]