Choosing The Right Fireplace

At Sligo Stoves & Fireplaces we want you to choose the fireplace that’s right for you. Using expertise from years in the heating business & information from suppliers, these handy hints & tips are here to help you choose the fireplace that’s right for your home.

What size of fireplaces should you choose?
Most fire surrounds as sold in two sizes 54” and 60” some surrounds can fall between these sizes but your sales consultant can advise you best on the choice to suit your room. You will need to know the width of your chimney breast to see what size surround can fit on it. Depending on the overall size of the room a smaller fireplace 54” may suit the room better even if the chimney breast could take a 60” surround.

What size of fire can I have?
This will depend on what size has been left by the builder during construction the general size after installation is 16”. You can have a larger opening but this sometimes limits the amount of choice of fire fronts that you can then choose from. Please bear in mind that larger openings may need to have larger flues than standard and this should be discussed with your builder or architect if you would like to have a higher than normal fire opening or a larger than normal fire opening.

Should I choose wood or stone and marble surrounds?
Many factors will affect the final choice you make on your fire surround from the room décor to budget you may have allocated to the fireplace. More and more of our customers are choosing marble or natural stone as their surround of choice as this means they are not trying to match up wood floors, doors & skirting with their fireplace. Natural stone & marble may have veining or different colour shades to what you see on display or in a brochure, your sales consultant can advise you on what variations may be in your material of choice. Natural stone can stain if not cared for properly especially if you are using solid fuel. Many of our customers have opted for a stone surround combined with a cast iron insert and granite hearth for easier mantainence and we only recommend complete limestone or sandstone fireplaces for gas or electric fires