Open fires / log burners / range cookers

Phil's thread reminded me about open fires - I think this house could really do with one to heat up the great big thick stone walls - they are always cold to touch even with the heating on :/

So I wonder what open fires entail - are they a lot of bother? Do they heat up rooms better? I've never had an open fire myself but remember my friend Tracy had one in her cottage and it used to be lovely - the heat would radiate for quite a distance.

We did get the chimney sweep in when we moved here, but it's since be plastered over (tho should be easy enough to remove) but is there anything else to think about?

We can light a fire in the sitting room however the smoke blows down into the room whenever there is a certain wind sweeping across the Irish Sea. CH is better methinks

We always had open fires growing up, very handy for burning rubbish. Dont forget you have to lift the ashes every day. Can you still get Slack for stacking up the fire at night to keep it going till the morning?

Nice on a chilly winters day to have your friendly fire burning away. My brother has a dual central heating system - CH either works with the open fire or with the Oil, that could be worth looking into?

Woodburners are good, a bit more controllable. You can have the doors open if you want the open fire feel (depending on size) and safely close them down to tick over in the night. It gives a nice ambient feel.

We also bought a grate with ours which enables us to burn solid fuel too, we have never used this though (have had it for over 30 years.

We opened our's when we moved in here,used to love a nice open fire,however the draw back is they are messy and I was forever cleaning up dust.

We had a Chimney fire back In Feb and it was extremely frightening,we had to call the fire service and it took two hours for them to put it out I was actually quite amazed at how quickly the house filled up with smoke, and had we all been in bed well it doesn't bare thinking about

We had to claim on the insurance because the flooring got ruined burn't from the debris which was falling down the chimney,it completely wrecked the fireplace,we have since had a new fireplace and closed the fire off.

We have open fires, and love them, so do the dogs by the way

Things to think about, you need to have your chimney swept ever year, they can dirty paint work over time, there is cleaning to do, raking out the cold embers and remaking said fire.

You need to know if you are in on a smokeless zone or not, make sure you have coal fire-lighters and sticks in when you need them.

TBH , they are not as convenient as gas fires, but it does not take long to set one up, they are lovely to sit around , throw out tons of heat, and will also heat up the above rooms... due to heart rising through the chimney.

I can't have an open fire in this house unfortunately because of its construction .

My sister has a multi fuel stove and it seems to heat half the house. My brother lives in an old farm up in the hills in the peak district, he has a huge raised up open fireplace which can accommodate half a tree it is heaven to sit in front of in the winter.

All open fires make a little mess but I think they are worth the bit of effort it takes to clean them out each day and to keep them going. I would have one tomorrow if I could .

If the flue is not lined then you may have to have it lined. Certainly if you employ a trades person to get it serviceable then they would need to ensure it is lined to comply with buildings regs.

That said my chimney isn't lined and has been that way for over 100 years! Obviously if smoke started coming out somewhere else we would either have it lined or stop using it!

My understanding is that soot in the chimney can get wet from rain and form an acidic compound which eats into the mortar forming channels through which smoke can travel. I think this is most common where a fireplace has been closed up as there is not a through flow of air or heat so the wet soot stays wet.

Our fire used Autumn and Spring when we don't want the heating on and in the depth of Winter when we want as much heat as possible, I do believe though that having an open fireplace is healthy as you get a turnover of fresh air.

I would hate to be without one, there really is nothing like it on a cold wet Sunday afternoon for making you feel cosy.

I love my open fire. When I moved in here over 20 years ago I realised that the gas fire was a bit of botch job and behind it there was still the fireplace etc. So got the fire out, there was a piece of plywood behind it, that came off, got the chimney done and bought a back boiler. More saving up with the back boiler sitting in the living room, then got a company in to put the back boiler in and I think put a liner in (can't remember now) and a radiator in the kitchen and on the landing, that was all I could afford, more saving up and gradually built up the radiators, none in the living room, I don't need one and none in my bedroom as it is over the living room. House is lovely and warm, I get offcuts from the local bedroom and kitchen place, and now I have my heating allowance will get coal delivered, although the amount grows less every year as things get more expensive. I can put the kettle on, clean the grate and lay the fire in the time it takes the kettle to boil, so not that time consuming really.

Couldn't live without my fire!! We have a massive Coalbrookdale wood and coal burning stove, which used to heat our 15 radiators and the hot water. We now have oil fired central heating, but left the pipes in for the fire to heat the hot water. I gather firewood for free every weekend, so we have free hot water and a lovely cosey sitting room to watch the telly in on a cold winter's nice. Plus, we can boil a kettle on it and slow cook a stew, so if we have a power cut - as we frequently do - then we can even eat and have a hot drink. Plus we can toast in front of it, roast chestnuts, melt marshmallows ... mmm !!

The down side? Mess, but nothing life-threatening. We only have our chimney swept every 3 years, so not much expense. Hard work gathering the wood, but when did that ever kill anyone? OH moans about bags of wood in his Audi, but it's only a car - leather seats, so they wipe clean - what's a bit of bark amongst friends in return for so much joy and pleasure?!

Go for it Azz - you will never look back!

O no!! What a shame!! We have had several chimney fires ... we managed to put out each one ourselves ... it's a brilliant way of sweeping the chimney for free, although definitely not to be recommended! Obviously if you have a thatched roof, it is extremely dangerous.

All the fires were caused by Yours Truly leaving the bottom of the Coalbrookdale open and then getting distracted - not a good idea when your central heating and hot water was run by a wood and coal burning fire - the water in the tank will boil dry if you left it long enough, and would explode. Luckily this never happened, otherwise I would not be sitting here typing these words. We very rarely burn coal now, because it is so expensive, and wood does not create the heat sufficient to cause the water to boil even if I were stupid enough to leave the bottom of the fire open