Don't be stupid

Our headline on the website is now "don't be stupid". Trust me we are not in the habit of insulting our customers or would be customers but come on what more information can we give to let you know we don't recommend open fires.

The facts are
1.More heat from your fuel.
2.Use less fuel.
3.Stop heat loss up the chimney when not in use.
4.No sparks jumping out on the floor as the door stays closed.
5.Cleaner to use taking ashs out in the tray provided.
6.Better for the environment as less smoke created and burns cleaner.

Yet a lot of people still persist in saying "oh I love the look of my open fire" fair enough but you still see the fire through the glass. Others come up with a multitude of excuses for not getting one and we will never be able to convince them otherwise. But for you dear reader will you still leave that gapeing 8 inch hole in your living room sucking the heat from your house or will you do something about it?

Bottom line don't take our word for it we have a picture wall in our showroom showing loads of pictures of fireplaces we have converted or brand new installations we have done from scratch like the one pictured below. There is proabably someone near you who can vouch for what these stoves do. Call in and we can show you.

Sligo Home and Garden Expo

Hi all,

Just a quick line to say we will be exhibiting at the Sligo Home and Garden expo this month. The show starts on Friday 12th march and runs until Sunday evening.
There will be several stoves and insert stoves on display and fireplaces along with the usual special offers on the day. I gave away sweets last year too so wondering what will I do this year. Any ideas?

Insert Stoves

Wow, sorry for not posting for so long didn't realise it had been as long as it has been. We had a bit of a snafu with our e mails that allowed anyone that had mailed us before to get through but if the e-mail address was not known then the message went straight to the spam bin, so if we were late getting back to you please accept my apologies.

The insert stoves mentioned in earlier posts seem to be taking off in a big way. For the first time ever people are asking for them by name so awareness is growing. The boiler versions of the same are also growing.

The main reasons for this are threefold, less heat loss from central heating up your chimney, more heat to the room and less fuel used. The biggest sign that I think these are going to be a big success is that we don't have to sell the idea to some people we just have to haggle on the final price and install and that's because their friend or neighbour has shown them their own stove and raved about it.

It's easy to hear a salesperson wax lyrical about how good these are but lets face it when you hear from someone using one for the past few months or years your going to be be more impressed and more inclined to investigate further which I am hoping is where we come in.

Our picture wall is growing all the time even though our fitter Ruairi forgets to take a picture every time he fits one so we should have more pictures on it but he is good at the stove fitting so what can I say. The testimonials are growing too and now we are offering half price fitting for the months of January and February

P.S those are not real E50 notes stuck to the wall above the pictures, just trying to show the money people can save.

Why aint my chimney drawing?

This is an all too common problem. Sometimes there is a very obvious problem and soloution and other times it can baffle the experts. Some flues work that shouldn't and some flues don't work that should. Is it an art or a science? I'm not qualified to answer but I can give some obvious pointers especially if your in the design/build stage. How flues work is pretty basic the gases from the fire are hotter than the surounding air and therefore rise. As they rise the fire pulls in more air to complete combustion thats why every appliance that burns should have a good air supply through a vent or similar. Not having enough fresh air will effect the draught of the chimney and could lead to carbon monoxide and other gases being fed back into the room and slowly poisioning you. Some people will say how a chimney works when a door or window is left ajar etc and this is that principle in action. Some flues give problems at the start as they are cold and the gases inside the flue cool down too quick and stop rising. Some chimneys, often external chimney breasts are like this but are ok once the fire gets going.

If your using solid fuel you will see and smell this pretty quickly as your room fills with smoke. If it's a gas burning appliance you won't see or smell it but it will be there so do what Duncan Stauart says and check flues and vents regularly and get one of these guys a CO detector.Another common reason for faulty flues is the termination point of the flue it simply may not be high enough or be in a hollow etc. Another getting more common problem is an opening thats too big. Some people try to emulate the big open fires as seen in Period houses and castles like this.


The opening thats standard in Ireland in a finished fire placeis usually 16" or 18" across and 22" high. Before the fireplace is fitted you are looking at a hole in the wall of about 20" across. The flue liner used is often an 8" internal diameter but is often referred to as a nine inch flue and once it's a few metres high the chimney will probably draw with no problems assuming good air supply. the problems we see more and more is that the client now wants an opening to be 2 or 3 foot wide and the same high. This can be done but may need a 10" or 12" flue liner again depending on the overal height of the flue. ideally speak to your builer, architect. or engineer as your building. If your already past that stage you have three choices starting with the hardest.

1. Redo your chimney withe the correct size flue liner. ( big messy and expensive)
2. Attache a high powered fan to the top. ( Expensive and some noise issues)
3. Reduce the size of your opening or install a stove which would in essence be reducing the size of the fire.

Stoves are double edged when having flue trouble. If the issue is too large an ope it may solve it but a stove is 3 times as efficient and therefore has lower flue gas temperatures so may cause a problem but unlikely.

A stove may help but will not solve an inherent problem and will not stop down draught. The vents on the front of the stove that allow air in for combustion will also allow smoke out if the draught of the flue is reversed.
Get an expert to assess the flue before you purchase an appliance.

display stock

Amazing as it may seem we need to change some of our display stock and get ready for the winter season ahead. We have several mind blowing offers on a few limited fireplaces. One the "Reims" pictured above which is only suitable for gas or electric would normally retail at E2995 we have one only ex display at E1200. This includes fitting.

Our best salespeople

In these trying times everyone is trying to second guess the future. Will we have a winter like last year and will our oil bil be as high or lower. On some reports I have been reading the Russia/Ukraine supply problem for natural gas may be about to hit the headlines once again. The Ec have sent a delegation to report back to Barrosso. But the monies outstanding seem to be the main problem. "Naftogaz Ukrainy owes about $650 million to Gazprom for imports of an estimated 2.4 billion cubic meters of gas in May, according to the Center for Energy Research, an independent think-tank." (source Platts) .

Well we are way out west so the natral gas supply doesn't really affect us but unfortunatley it will. If energy prices in any sector climb over security of supply then all energy prices climb. Oil which the West in particular is very dependant on will certainly climb and that will happen regardless of how we are financially and all we need is a very cold winter like last year to send us into a real spin price wise.

How can we insulate ourselves from this problem?

Well actually the answers in the question first off insulate well, theres even grants for it now. Second after you have insulated don't leave a gaping 8" hole in your fireplace open. Either seal it up or if you use it regularly get an insert stove installed. How good are they? Don't ask us we are salespeople but ask our past customers and see their pictures on our wall in the showroom as they I firmly believe are our best salespeople.

Get your chimney cleaned

Now that it's summer time (ahem) it's the ideal time to sweep the chimney. Even if your appliance is gas you should have it checked and swept periodicly. The reason for this on gas appliances is to ensure there is no blockage in the flue that could lead to fumes coming back down the flue, even Duncan on TV advises getting it done.
If your appliance is solid fuel either an open fire or a stove its crucial as it will impact on the performance of the appliance but if not done could lead to chimney fires. The reason for a chimney fire is that soot builds up in the flue and gradually over the years accumulates and heats up everytime you have a fire. Eventually this takes light and then increases the draw of the chimney drawing up for unburnt fumes from the fire below which then ignit in the flue and increase this happening again. It's self perpetuating and thats what gives the roar associated with chimney fires. When the fire brigade come they will know what to do but you could end up with a cracked flue pipe and need to reline the flue costing major money as well as pay for the fire brigade call out.
Get it swept which leads me nicely on to our new promotion. Buy an insert stove this summer and we will sweep your chimney before we start, free, gratis and for nothing. At the end of the day it makes sense.