DIY Doctor UK DIY Forums

Sorry if this is in the wrong section of the forum, wasn't sure where to post about fireplaces?

We've just moved into a new house and had the old gas fire removed by the local gas company. They capped off all the gas and left us with the old solid fuel back boiler, behind a brickwork facade. I spent the day yesterday opening out the brickwork to get to the back boiler, and then removing the back boiler itself (a lot of cuts and bruises to show for it).

I've attached a before and after photo.

We'd like to install an open fire but I don't have a clue where to go from here. I'll almost certainly need to open up the brickwork more but do we need to render everything behind the brick? How far back should we set the grate? Anyone got any ideas how much it would cost to get someone in to finish it off from here? All help much appreciated :)

There seems to be a lack of posts - basically it's not a DIY job.

You need to establish what condition the brickwork is in, if poor you may need a flue liner. Some manufacturers may state the fire is only suitable for use with/without a flue liner. So you need to choose the fire you want first.

You need a suitable terminal - i.e. you cannot use a gas cowl/terminal for solid fuel appliances.

The opening and positioning of the grate will be determined by the manufacturer - as will any ventilation requirements.

Bricking up a fireplace correctly can be tricky, as some have been built for use with gas appliances and liners, you can get huge voids which affect the pull of the flue, these require bricking up correctly to catch the flue above.

Hope this helps

As we all know a back boiler is a kind of boiler that fits in a place behind a fireplace in the home. Like the installation process we must be careful when we are planning to replace it.