Electrical fireplace installers in London
An open fire in a attractive fireplace will make a room feel special, but if you don’t want to have Gas Fireplace , an Electric Modern Fireplace can be the answer and safer than Gas fires. A compromise between traditional fires and convenience. Our Electricians are NICEIC Registered electricians. Fireplaces make an attractive feature in the room where they are installed.
Most fireplaces consist of a surround, a fireback and grate, and a front hearth. The surround serves a purely decorative function while the fireback, grate and hearth ensure that the fire burns efficiently without risk of an accident. Because all of these features vary so much in their construction, it is important to understand how they are built before attempting to demolish, remove them and install new ones.
Tiled surround: A number of fireplaces, particularly UK ones built in the 1940s and 1950s, consist of a concrete surround and hearth which is then covered in decorative tiles. The surround is held in place by two metal plugs, bonded to the concrete backing and screwed firmly into the chimney breast or wall behind the fire.
Timber surround: Many fires have a wooden surround, usually with a stone or concrete front hearth protruding beneath the fire opening. The surround is screwed in position on top of a framework of wooden battens fixed to the chimney breast or wall.
Stone or brick surround: This type consists of a number of stone or brickwork courses built up from the hearth against the wall or chimney breast. The gap above the fire is often bridged by a ‘soldier’ arch of bricks placed on end, held up by a steel support underneath. Although stone or brickwork surrounds are usually built without being tied into the wall behind, occasionally steel wall ties—similar to those used in cavity wall construction—are inserted between courses to help strengthen the structure.
Cast-iron surround: These are held in place in a similar fashion to tiled surrounds: plugs bonded to the back of the cast-iron frame are held tight against the wall with screws. Most cast-iron surrounds also have an inner cast-iron grate frame fitted around the sides and top of the fireplace and held in position either with nuts and bolts or countersunk screws.
Front hearth: Some fires have a front hearth which protrudes into the room below the fireplace opening and is made of the same material as the surround. This is intended to reduce the risk of hot coals or sparks falling from the grate and accidentally damaging floorings.
Fireback: This is a shell-shaped backing made of fireclay which surrounds the grate and prevents the damage to the brickwork.