Adding a fire to a vacant hearth !

[Jola13]

<PRE>Hi there. </PRE><PRE>I have just moved into my new house (hurrah !) where they have left me the hearth and mantelpiece but not the actual fire. I know they had an electric one but he thought the previous owner had had a gas one.</PRE><PRE>There is a gas point next to the hearth and there's a ~12&quot; diameter pipe throught the wall to outside right in the middle of the gap (this has been filled with expanded foam.) Is this a pre-fabricated flue or what? Can I use this - can you dig out the foam ? </PRE><PRE>I've fallen in love with a full bed gas fire from B&amp;Q but am confused as to whether this &quot;flue&quot; would suit?</PRE><PRE>Anyone know anything about this please? Ta</PRE>

[stanleyman]

You will need a CORGI registered gas fitter to install a gas fire so why not get someone in to check out your fireplace and chimney to determine what sort you can have. The pipe sounds like an air vent which should never be blocked up when a gas fire is installed.

[jake-the-peg]

Your question came out a bit odd but it looks like you were talking about a 12" diameter pipe. That sounds as if it used to be for a balanced flue.

A lot depends on the specification of the particular fire you have in mind. Talk to the people at B&Q first and find out about what the fire requires.

There are a lot of building regs around fires not least is for adequate ventillation. If you do not have one already you will almost certainly need an air brick put in. This is a brick with holes in it to the outside of the house this should ensure that the fire gets enough air and you don't get a build up of carbon monoxide. A lot of people are put off by air bricks because of issues like draughts and the risk of mice and things getting through them.

As stanleyman says it'll need to be installed by a Corgi engineer I'd talk to one first for an idea of what's necessary