Georgian Surround? any ideas.

[agbagb]

We are thinking of having a stove in here but haven't got any further with ideas. We can see a ghost of a surround on the timber paneling so possibly reinstating this but how to finish it back to the brick.

An open fire would be nice but we've got to consider safety when novice fire tenders might be in charge.

 

[Zebra]

What's the chimney like? Possible to line it? How big is the opening? A stove seems a possibility, though of course you'll need to read the Building Regs Part J about how big the hearth needs to be, how much space you need around the stove etc. Here's a link to it:
http://www.planningportal.gov.uk/uploads/br/BR_PDF_ADJ_2002.pdf
How big is that opening. What does immediately strike me is that it might not be big enough to get a stove in with the clearances required by Part J.

 

[JoceAndChris]

Hi agbagb. A stove will provide more warmth I agree but I also agree there might need to be some smashing out to fit one in. A shame if so - what's there looks rather lovely ( potentially)

What it would have had is nice painted panelling, a hob grate insert which you can still buy ( http://www.britainsheritage.co.uk/ for some nice examples) and a simple surround in either marble, stone or painted wood - that website will also show you examples of those.

We have 5 Georgian open fires, and many many visitIng tinies, I always make sure a good guard goes in front when the children are here. They all learn to respect the fires and there have been no mishaps. My feeling is you ought to go with the aesthetics of the room and what was there but it's your project. ( if it's unlisted)

If you scroll down this thread I posted recently you'll see my dining room fire surround which is fairly typical for middle class homes - except it being fossil marble which is a bit unusual. Anyway, there's the stone surround, the typical metal bit but the innards are missing so there's just one of those simple, small grates you can pick up easily at large garden centres and fire shops - this is another option though obviously it's better if you can replace the whole thing.

 

[JoceAndChris]

Oops forgot the link

http://www.periodproperty.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=13147&start=15

You can just about make out the blackened brick and tiny grate

 

[agbagb]

Thanks.
The opening is big enough 1.1 x 0.9m for a small stove (4kw ish). Flue linner yes (booked in with the re-roof along with a rebuild of the top of the stack). Hearth, there is 2ft of stone in front of the opening under the carpet so 300mm in front shouldn't be a problem. Thanks for the Link Zebra.

The concern that leads me towards a stove for safety is the cottage will be a holiday let for a few years, it's the only way we can afford it. So were thinking if the stove door is shut then we don't have to rely on people tending and taking proper precautions.

The simpicity of your dining room fireplace and some of the examples on the britains heritage site have given me a few ideas. A simple timber surround with an insert of steel/iron/copper going in to the opening. Time for a few sketches I think.

Cheers

 

[JoceAndChris]

Cool. Just for the record, is it proven that open fires cause more house fires than stoves? I was under the impression that most house fires start with attic wiring, though I don't have any hard evidence before me.

There's no doubt stuff rolls and spits out of a loaded open fire though - especially one that's been loaded by drunk people! I've lost count of the times that a big burning log has rolled out onto the hearthstones - fortunately we've always caught it but I do panic when I'm in the kitchen and the party-makers are stacking up the fires upstairs - so I think you're wise to have little trust of others.

I would definitely reduce that risk if we were to put back the hob grate though.

Good luck - by the way does the panelling go all round?

 

[AMc]

We never had any issues with open fires in a previous house but in a rental property I wouldn't consider one unless it was purely ornamental.
Most people haven't grown up with open fires and don't know how to build or maintain them, while you can make mistakes with stoves too, I would be much less concerned that it would get out of control.
We had a stove here and fitted another and they are easy - you can even leave the doors open if you want that "open fire" look
Stoves have the advantage that unlit and with the vents closed they are more or less air tight which means you lose less heat up the chimney than an open flue when the fire isn't lit. [edited for clarity - or the absence of before]

If you go for ornamental only then a chimney balloon reduces heat loss without completely stopping the flue - with consequent problems with condensation etc.

 

[agbagb]

Thanks. It looks like a stove is way we'll go as the best option for this particular situation. It's just a case now of sorting out the details. Oh and then doing it!

I've no idea about the stats on house fires it just the thought that with door shut on a stove the only thing that could go wrong is a chimney fire. And that would be up to me to keep it well swept.

The panelling makes the three internal walls along with six doors.

Just because we all love pictures:

All of the fireplace wall still with the blue painted wall paper on the right.

One dividing wall all vertical boards

Lots of wood to prep and paint. This is the woodwork I had in mind when I was asking about interior paints for wood in a previous post.

And the mystery door uncovered. Theres another working door in this wall the rest is vertical boards.

Lots of wood to prep and paint.

 

[JoceAndChris]

Oh, exciting for me to see those! Love the Georgians, and it's always fascinating to see the middle class home rather than the stately home examples (which I also totally love, but sure you all know what I mean).

They did love the door leading off didn't they - those pics remind me of my hallway, which have 13 doors leading off to various rooms and cupboards and cloakrooms and porches. Fab. Hard to tell, but looks like the spectacular last pic is showing the original or maybe 19th C wood graining on the door, as we have here. It gets associated with the Victorians but the Georgians liked fake wood graining too.

Loads of wood to prep and paint as you say - I wouldn't bother with linseed or fake wood graining techniques, I'd just pick a lovely grey-green or bluey grey or off white in the FnB or Little Greene or Rose of Jericho range and get going with it.

Looks like the ceiling's been pulled down too- exposed beams so wrong with that unmistakeable Georgian architecture.

 

[agbagb]

Well spotted it is wood grain scumble and underneath that there's a grey/blue. Thanks for tips on the paint suppliers I set the other half on to it.

On the subject of paint we've just had delivery of of "duck egg" blue linseed for the exterior woodwork, matching the what we found under all the other layers. The chap at "The Linseed Paint Company" mixed for us from a sample we provided. The earliest windows are Arts and Crafts style casements probably 1920's, now rebuilt and repaired.

The ceiling we think was like that when the panelling was added . The beams have a quadrant molding on the edges. We've still not figured out the sequence of the various remodeling that's happend in the past but we've got on heck of a mish mash. We've got features from 1650ish (to be confirmed) through to 1980's (to be removed)!

 

[JoceAndChris]

Very exciting! The duck egg blue sounds really lovely - good luck with the linseed paint which I understand is arduous but beautiful, you're braver than I.

Confused about your house then, I thought it was Georgian but it's older? In that case fine for it to be a mixture of styles inside, wood burning stoves look nice in older properties I think.