Assuming a full installation from removal of an open fire or gas fire, plus laying of a new hearth, re plastering and woodburner installation, most jobs cost somewhere around £3000 (including VAT and burner). If your fireplace is already prepared then an installation will cost from £1400 plus the cost of the woodburner (based on a 2 storey house and including VAT). The price may be reduced if you live in a bungalow with a shorter flue. For more information please refer to the Pricing page.

It depends entirely on use. 2 cubic metres of seasoned hardwood at around £160 should last throughout the winter with average evening use. (Compare this cost to the cost of gas heating your radiators for the same amount of time!)

Yes. Open fire efficiency ranges from 10-25% with as much as 80% of the produced heat escaping up the chimney. Wood burners, on the other hand, have a MINIMUM net efficiency of 66.6% and can get as high as 91%. Modern wood burners are designed in such a way that the majority of the heat is harvested to the room.

In essence it is the heat output of the stove. Manufacturers delcare the nominal kW output of their stove upon testing. Most rooms will suit a 4-5kW stove but some larger rooms may be able to take up to 12kW. As trained HETAS installers we will be able to judge the required kW output needed for your house.

If you're talking about a good quality steel-bodied stove versus a good quality cast iron stove then, providing the stove is used according to the manufacturer's instructions, it really doesn't matter. Poor quality cast iron stoves have a reputation for cracking and poor quality steel bodied stoves have a reputation for warping.The practical difference between the two types is that steel stoves heat up quicker and delivers heat to the room much faster, whereas cast iron, which is the traditional material for stove building, because it is much heavier tends to take longer to build up heat and distribute it to the room. However this mass of metal also has the advantage of being a significant heat sink for the slow release of gentle heat after the stove's fire has gone out – but only providing the stove has been at operating temperature for a good hour or so. A steel bodied stove will still do this but it won't retain its heat for quite as long. So, essentially it's a lifestyle choice – if you need fast heat then choose steel and if you want longer lasting heat, say into the small hours, then choose cast iron. Most modern stoves tend to be hybrids - steel bodied with a cast iron door.

With proper installation and yearly maintenance a woodburning stove is a safe appliance to have in your household. Due to the nature of modern building regulations, woodburning stove are much safer than an open fire if replacing one.

Multifuel stoves allow you to burn more than wood. These fuel types include: smokeless coal, anthracite, peat/turf briquettes etc. Ultimately it depends on preference, wood only stoves tend to have higher single efficiencies whereas multifuel stoves will have specific efficiencies for each fuel type. Burn time is also another factor to consider. Most stoves will have a burntime of up to 45 minutes on wood whereas multifuel stoves can last considerably longer on smokeless coal (up to 3 hours). Multifuel stoves have a cast iron grate with an ashpan underneath whereas a woodburner will just have a firebrick at the bottom. This makes multifuel stoves a bit easier to clean out than woodburners.

No, absolutely not. All that is changing is that ecodesign regulations will take effect across Europe in 2022. This means that all stoves bought and installed from 2022 onwards must be ecodesign. House coal will be banned at this time as well, so you will only be able to buy smokeless coal for use in a multi fuel stove. Burning green (wet) wood has already been made illegal but it has never been advisable to burn wet wood in a wood burner or open fire anyway due to the enormous amount of soot and particulate matter that it creates. You should only ever burn well seasoned, dry logs in a wood burner. See our page on ecodesign regulations for more information.

Yes. If your chimney hasn’t been used and its clear of soot and creosote it may be possible to pass on sweeping but it will still need a visual inspection. Once a liner is installed the flue itself can no longer be swept so it should be done for peace of mind.

In most cases your flue will need to be lined to meet building regulations. Building regulations (specifically ADJ) do not require a flue to be lined if it can meet all of the criteria laid out in the Approved Document. If a chimney can be proven not to leak (using smoke test procedures in ADJ Appendix E), and be of a constant diameter suitable for your chosen stove, and be shown to have a flue draft reading within stove manufacturers’ specific ranges, and meet the minimum separation distances for combustion materials along the full length of the flue (ADJ Diagram 21), and ample room can be provided for a sweep to access the flue through the registration plate, only then, your flue does not need lining.

If all of the above criteria have been met and you have a certified pressure test, you can legally install without a liner. Remember though, you cannot be assured that any of the conditions won't change and your flue might start leaking a year down the line. You'd then have to pay for a reinstallation with a liner and end up spening a lot more money than you needed to. Not using a liner will also cut your stove's efficiency by up to 10% and also increase the risk of a chimney fire.( Liners pretty much eliminate all risk of chimney fire.) We use HETAS APPROVED stainless steel 316 liners that come with a lifetime guarantee.

The calculation for stove output is as follows:

Appropriate kW = (room height m x room width m x room length m) / 14

However most rooms will usually be fine with a 5kW stove. We can help you make this decision when we come to quote.

We can remove it but the gas has to be capped first by someone Gas Safe registered before we can proceed with the install.

All wood burners in a smoke control zone have to be DEFRA Approved applances. Lucikly, there are many different manufacturers who provide high quality DEFRA Approved stoves. As much of low lying Brighton & Hove is smoke control, all of the stoves we sell are DEFRA Approved. To check if you are in a smoke control zone in Brighton & Hove you can visit the council’s website here or view our own map which can be found in the navigation bar at the top of the page.

Not at all. When we first open up your fireplace we usually take it back to the original builders opening. If you are interested in a specific stove that is larger than the dimensions of your recess we can widen it for you.

Properties built before 2008 with no siginificant ugrades are considered to have high air permiability. This means you’re given the first 5kW free so if you are looking at a 5kW woodburner and you don’t live in a new build you would not need any extra ventilation.

HETAS are the governing body recognised by the government to regulate the installation and maintenance of domestic solid fuel appliances, fuels, associated equipment and services. HETAS stands for Heating Equipment Testing and Approvals Scheme

Anyone can install a woodburning stove as long as the installation conforms to building regulations. You can find the relevant building regulations here:

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/468872/ADJ_LOCKED.pdf

However, if the installer is not qualified under the HETAS competent persons scheme H 003 then building control will have to be called in (and the appropriate fee paid) to assess the installation before use. If selling your home with a woodburner, you must be able to prove that the installation has been signed off by a HETAS installer or through building control.

Yes. Bird and rain guards help increase the life of your install by protecting the top seal from water ingress, also it prevents any birds nesting or falling down your flue which can cause significant safety issues if your flue becomes blocked. Other types of cowls (such as anti-downdraft) can improve the performance of a wood stove but are mainly installed on underperforming flues.

Wood only stoves like a bed of ash and it improves their functioning, if you have a multifuel stove then as soon as your ashpan fills completely you should empty it. Most models draw their secondary air (for burning coal etc.) through the lower grate and a full ashpan can prevent adequate air flow.

If your firebricks are cracked/fractured and are still standing, they are fine as they are. Firebricks protect the body of the stove from overheating and project the majority of the heat from your fire forward. They are considered perishable items and will most likely be the first thing to go as your installation ages. Do not worry, your sweep will be aware of these facts and if you do need a firebrick replacing you can contact us.

Much like the firebricks cracking, the seal between the flue pipe and the stove outlet can sometimes deteriorate. This can be addressed in a maintenance check and takes 5 minutes to repair.

A minimum of once a year. It does somewhat depend on the quality and type of fuel you are using but if your wood is dry (20% moisture or less) then once a year is fine. Be smart! Try and get your chimney swept in the summer and not as it starts to turn cold and you will have no issue booking a sweep.

The single biggest issue with performance of stoves we see is poor quality/high moisture wood. Wood with a moisture content higher than 20% will burn poorly in a woodburning stove as the heat generated firstly needs to boil out the moisture before it can start burning your fuel. You can buy moisture meters online cheaply to check the moisture content of your wood. Other issues can include the draw of your flue being affected by weather if you are in a particularly exposed area, or if your flue is particularly cold. If it's very windy outside or very cold, try burning some newspaper before building your fire. This will warm your flue to kick start the draw.

Again, this can be due to poor fuel as mentioned in the previous answer. Also during lighting and as your fire is dying down stove glass will tend to soot up. Many manufatureres include an airwash system in their design to somewhat prevent this but it can still occur. Soot is produced by incomplete combustion and as your fire gets started a lot of soot is produced. When your wood burning stove is running at peak temperature your glass should remain clear. Over time you will probably want to clean the glass at some point. Treat it like an oven door; use oven cleaner spray. Or wood ash mixed with a little water is quite effective. But remember to only use a soft sponge or cloth, never a scourer as stove glass is not scratch resistant.