Wood Stoves

As the weather becomes warmer, this article may seem to be rather irrelevant.  However, if you are considering buying either a wood burning stove or a multi-fuel burning stove, then this is the time of year when you may find some good bargains amongst retailers. There are several things to consider first before installing a wood burning stove.  If you have a large room to heat then you will need a bigger stove to give you larger heat output.  Do you also require the stove to heat water?  It may be possible to fit a back boiler or use an existing back boiler. It is very advisable to have the chimney swept.  You may need to get your chimney lined before installing a stove, although that is not always the […]

Lighting a fire is a little bit like untangling a knotted ball of string!  It is very difficult to stand by and watch someone else do it without wanting to join in and take over, in the certain knowledge that you can do it quicker and better! However, for many of us, lighting a fire and keeping it going all evening is a skill that we have not had to use before.  It was something that our grandparents had to do in their old, draughty houses.  With the arrival of clean, efficient central heating, many modern houses do not even possess a fireplace. The last 10 years have seen the rise in popularity of the multi-fuel burning stove.  The best way to set the fire is to start with loosely […]

During the 1960s and 1970s householders yearned for the latest trends for their home – hence the rise of the pastel coloured bathroom suite and the mesmerising lava lamp in every lounge from Looe to Lanark.  Fancy, elaborate ruched blinds and sandwich toasters made an appearance a decade later and then, at the beginning of the twenty first century, almost every fashionable household boasted a huge American style fridge-freezer and a coffee machine that was a bubbling, hissing miniature version of one found in the local “Starbucks” or “Costa”. However, over the last 5 years in particular, there has been a huge rise in sales of wood burning stoves and multi-fuel stoves.  Is this a trend that is here to stay? Home magazines have not been able to show home […]

If you are the lucky owner of a wood burning stove or multi-fuel stove and you use it regularly during the colder months of the year then it is advisable to have your chimney swept at least once a year. The ideal time to do this, of course, is during the Spring or Summer months when you are no longer using the stove. If you possess a set of rods and brushes, then you could try this yourself but most people would call on the services of a local chimney sweep. It sounds like a very messy business but the chimney sweep will come with sheets and tarpaulins to protect your carpets and furniture. The whole setting up and sweeping process takes about 45 minutes to an hour. If you […]

You’ve probably all heard the line “chestnuts roasting on an open fire” from the classic Christmas song “Merry Christmas to You”. And the good news is you can do just that if you have a wood burning stove. All you need to do is place them on a baking tray and roast them for half an hour or so. You may need some form of shelving in your stove if you haven’t got that already, but they don’t take long and you should leave the stove door open. Some people often cook the nuts on the top of the stove too, in a pan, and while this takes longer, it works just as well, and your home will soon be hit by the festive chestnut smell. Stoves aren’t just great […]