We had a bit of bad news recently. Recalling that the fireplace started like this:
Was demolished, and put back together like this (note sturdy wooden lintel):
Was plasterboarded, plastered and decorated to look like this:
Then we had the man around to quote for putting the planned log burning stove in.
"Can't do that", he said to my wife.
"What?" said she.
"I can see a wooden lintel in there - they change the regs last year. And you can't have that plasterboard there either."
"Eh? That plasterboards the fireproof stuff - look, it's pink"
"Doesn't matter - can't be there. And if you want that wooden lintel, the stove would need to be tiny - there's minimum distance it can be from the top of the stove"
"Balls".
Hence the Hokey Cokey. Not in celebration - but with lintels.
Having put yer wooden lintel in, take your wooden lintel out:
Concrete one in, out, in out (it wasn't the same size at the wooden one, and wasn't going in without some more surgery on the hole) ... anyway, you get the picture.
Of course, this necessitated another visit from our friendly plasterers (and we got the floor in too):
And this is how the fireplace is today:
It's a clearview stove - very controllable, and very warm. It's sitting on a couple of pieces of black-ish granite (one at the back, in the chimney opening, and one going across the front). And that's where we are now!
