Gas Fire Installers

The parts of a gas fire installation, in plain English

• The fire: inset fires sit in the fireplace opening, outset fires sit in front of it, wall fires hang on or in the wall, and gas stoves stand on the hearth looking like a log burner.
• Gas supply: a gas point at the fireplace, usually a small isolation valve. If there isn't one, pipework is run from the nearest gas pipe.
• Chimney or flue: a conventional fire uses the chimney. A balanced flue fire vents straight through an outside wall and needs no chimney. A flueless fire needs neither, but needs more ventilation and is limited in output.
• Spillage test: after fitting, a smoke test at the top of the fire confirms the fumes are going up the flue, not into the room.
• Ventilation: some fires need an air vent in the room. The engineer checks and tells you before fitting.
• Flue liner: an old chimney sometimes needs a flexible liner for a gas fire. Common on Victorian and Edwardian houses.
• Hearth: the non combustible base. Most fires need one, and the rules on size are set by the fire's instructions.
• Log effect and fuel bed: the ceramic logs, coals or pebbles that sit over the burner. They come with the fire and go in a set pattern.
• Controls: a manual knob, a slide control, or a remote. Remote control fires need a battery or a small mains connection.
• Certificate: a written record of the installation and tests. Needed for a landlord's file and useful when you sell.

What's involved on the day

• Old fire out: disconnected, removed and taken away. The gas point is checked and often renewed.
• Chimney or flue checked: a chimney is checked for draw and sometimes lined. A balanced flue fire has a hole cored through the wall for the flue.
• Fire fitted and connected: positioned, secured, and connected to the gas with a new pipe or isolation valve.
• Tests: gas tightness test on the pipework, the fire lit, flame picture checked, spillage tested, ventilation confirmed.
• Handover: the fire demonstrated, the controls explained, the record written. An inset or outset fire on an existing gas point is about two hours; a balanced flue through a wall is half a day.

Honest advice: what's overkill

• A flueless fire to avoid a flue: they're limited to a small output and need a permanent vent in the room, so the room can feel draughty. A balanced flue fire is usually the better answer where there's no chimney.
• Lining a chimney that doesn't need it: a chimney in good condition draws fine for a gas fire. It's lined when the test says it needs it, not as standard.
• A high output fire in a small room: a 4kW gas fire heats most living rooms. A bigger one runs on low and wastes the money.
• Paying a fireplace showroom's fitting price: showrooms subcontract the fitting. A Gas Safe engineer fitting your fire directly costs less and answers the phone afterwards.
• Worth paying for: the log burner look gas fire if you like the look. It gives you the stove in the corner with none of the sweeping, the wood store or the smoke, and it's on with a switch.

When to ask for a price

Once you've chosen the fire, or the look you want, send a photo of the fireplace and we'll tell you what flue it needs and a fixed price to fit it. Message me for a fixed price