The front room was starting to look half decent. The only problem was the gap in the middle of it. Cold air was getting in and it looked pretty unsightly. We needed to find something to fill the space.
Luckily the guys at Galleon Fireplaces had the perfect solution. Plug the gap with a new log burning stove. We went with a 5kw version made by Capital Fireplaces - mostly because anything bigger and we'd be able to start drying clay pottery in there. Nope, it was just the aesthetics of having something intentionally burning in the room and maybe a little extra coziness on winter nights.
We knew the chimney worked as there was a gas stove in there when we first moved in. We had the chimney swept and inspected first before confirming this particular job - required by code.
Also, the chimney needed to be lined so that the fire is what's putting the grin on our face - not the carbon monoxide leaking out into the house. The guys spent a lot more time than expected running the pipe down the chimney. I did confirm with them that this was both approved for woodstoves and convenient passage of jolly old men. They also needed to put a new cap on top of the chimney suitable for wood burners. And of course, it being London and us needing to do work outside, it rained ....
Next once the liner was installed, next came the register plate which is just the metal bit that goes on the top and connects in with the pipe.
The guys also worked on the hearth which is honed black granite. Black granite was chosen vs slate or limestone as it was the hardest wearing material and avoided scuffs and scratches well. With a fire and a couple of kids, felt this was a good option to go with. Also, all my hard work on getting the floor level (see here) was probably a but unnecessary - they put down new mortar under the hearth and re-leveled the entire thing. Well hopefully my work made this a little bit easier - or at least an entertaining blog entry :)
Nice of them to put down covering so as not to wreck our "lovely" floor. They were super considerate, although in this case, anything they did to the floor would likely improve its current state.
Next came all the pretty stuff, namely the limestone surround. I think this may have been the first time that Care and I have agreed on something completely without the need for 10,000 samples first. Progress maybe? No, unfortunately the 10,000 flooring samples sitting in the room would suggest otherwise.
And that was the end of Day 1. They were doing a great job so I wasn't going to rush them.
So Day 2, I was back at work so Care had to double as photographer. It took them a few more hours to install the rest of the surround, wood burner, insert and calking/finishing. It seemed a bit comical that we covered the original rustic bricks with faux "rustic" bricks but that is apparently what you do. Don't ask.
And there you go, the guys from Galleon standing proudly by their work. Nice job!
And the stove in action with a nice oak log. I learned by trial and error that logs are both heavy to carry home from the store and $&£@!!!! difficult to get burning. My recommendation is going for a softer wood like ash, unless you have a massive incinerator wood stove.
Now that the stove is installed, we can finish off the flooring - after of course deciding which of the 10,000 shades of wood we prefer. Arrgh!
Well at least the unsightly gap in the wall is now plugged with something a bit more pleasant to the eye (and warm on the toes),
Always good to have some before / after pictures to show progress. Technically this is a during / during picture, but you get the idea. Whenever we finish, we'll do a proper before/during/after comparison - but that is still a long, long way away.
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