You desire a cast iron fireplace but have no chimney or flue system and want to mount the fireplace on an external wall here at Castfireplaces we have an option that may just work out for you.
With the introduction of the H/E gas fires last year from the Gallery range they also have designed a new H/E gas fire that works on a balanced flue.
Im afraid its not the cheapest of options but this unit is ideal for customers requiring a traditional looking arched fireplace but are without a traditional chimney.
They still work out far cheaper than having a fan system which were very expensive and also pretty noisy.
So Gallery fireplaces have introduced new models to help sort this problem out
Castfireplaces can now offer the following fireplaces to be used in any of our 3″ rebated mantels
Jubilee H/E Arch
Lytton H/E Arch
Toulouse H/E Tiled
Pembroke H/E Combination
All of these fireplaces can be used with the balanced flue system so they do not require a chimney breast and can be vented to an external wall.
These fireplaces are Only avaialble from our Showroom and are not items that are to be sold online so please contact us to arrange viewing and Castfireplaces can discuus the relevant options with you.
Balanced Flue Cast Iron Gas Fireplaces
May 16th, 2012Stove fitting in Ripley on the same road
May 15th, 2012Where we live in Ripley Derbyshire and park a couple of our sign written vans all our neighbours and those living by us know what we do.
I have sold stoves to many of our neighbours and now one of our customers who lives over the road from us has put her mother in touch also for a Firefox 12 Stove
Now these stoves are one big and heavy heat machine enough to heat the largest of rooms so i delivered it Friday to them and Matt our local fitter was knocking on our door this morning early doors for a cup of tea before fitting it for them.
They had ordered a chimney lining kit, debris plate, flue and the stove for a complete fitting into an existing chimney breast and i saw Mr Key just pointing up a newly fitted airbrick when we delivered on Friday.
So thats eight supply on fits on the same road as us and all from word of mouth or seeing our well sign written vans i love a nice local delivery its far easier than driving to say Bournemouth to deliver the same item.
So as i have said before await our new winter time advertising programme im sure all our local customers will be impressed with waht Castfireplaces can offer them.
Be careful when tightening screws onto Cast Iron Fireplaces
May 14th, 2012I have had a phonecall today from a customer who was fitting his own cast iron fireplace and the wall he was fitting it too was not level
This is quite a normal problem with chimney breast walls not being perfectly flat and when you come to fix a cast iron combination fireplace to the wall be very careful when you tighten the screws holding it into place.
Now as some of you may be aware cast iron has no movement in it its not like steel that will bend its immensely strong when cast but it is very brittle and will simply crack if dropped etc.
Well this customer was fixing the fireplace to the wall and was tightening the screws to hold it back but the cast was not sitting flat against the wall and the lugs were sitting slightly proud of the wall.
Instead of chiseling away the plaster work to make it sit perfectly flat he has decided to pull it into place with a cordless screwdriver.
Not a good idea im afraid as he has found out as the lug simply snapped off the side of the fireplace he rang us to see if it can be glued back in place but im afriad it needs to be stick welded using cast iron rods to repair this.
So be careful when fitting this type of fireplace its not as easy as it looks and care must be taken to avoid damage to the cast iron.
Castfireplaces Use Worldpay for online payments
May 13th, 2012So you are looking to make an order for a fireplace online and as a regular shopper online you would be amazed at the payment options available to people.
I have seen the best and the worst of online payment gateways and some are not even secure and process card detials manually after taking your details.
Now this really is not safe and i log out every time i come across unsafe payment pages.
So on our website where we sell fireplaces and stoves castfireplaces has chosen as our payment gateway Worldpay which are one of the best payment providers and are recognised all over the world.
We dont do things by any short measures and have the most stringent sales policy to reduce card fraud and am pleased to say this works really well for us.
So when ordering a fireplace from us or any other website check the page has the padlock locked symbol and any payment pages and ensure you are shopping with a recognised brand of payment gateway and are secure.
These are yet more reasons why you can trust Castfireplaces for your online purchases our payments are secure and no details are ever kept by us we take your securtiy very seriously.
What a lovely day at Castfireplaces
May 12th, 2012Good evening and what a lovely day ive had today here at Castfireplaces this morning as usual i was at the showroom and factory at Langley Mill between 10 and 12 meeting customers.
Time flew by this morning meeting people and i did not have time to finish a cup of tea i was suprised as to how many people turned up today to look at our fireplaces and stoves.
I was back home for 12.45 via the shops then was straight out With Rhian and my son Jaiden to his football presentation afternoon and im proud to say the boys looked great in the castfireplaces sponsored football shirts, i can beleive they have been playing for a year ive some exciting news to tell you about Castfireplaces and football but ill let you know when its all been confirmed.
So back in the office sat on my patio in the gorgeous sun working away on my work laptop if felt like i was bunking an afternoon off from my fireplace world.
I was even sat there with a cold beer working away what could be any better now the sun has gone in it was alittle cold so im sat writing this at my office desk just before i finish for the day if only every day could be as perfect as this.
Early Finish for Castfireplaces 40th Birthday
May 11th, 2012Good evening and im back in the office late today for a Friday its because we had an early afternoon to go to a 40th BBQ, its not just a 40th but its Stuarts 40th one of the fireplace delivery guys that works for us.
He is family and is Rhians Sisters partner and he has worked for us now for around 4 years he is our part time driver now though im afriad as he is at a full time university course studying programming all far too technical for me.
Stuart only works Sundays now or the odd weekday whilst on holiday from Uni, he really is one of the friendliest people you could ever wish to meet and i can honestly say its a real pleasure having him work for us.
So today he has turned 40 and we have been to there house to celebrate with him and ive now got quite abit of work to catch up with before bedtime.
The rest i will catch up with early in the morning before i head of to the workshop for Saturday open viewings at our showroom which is our normal saturday job.
Right off to do Stus delivery notes for this weekends London run.
Need a fireplace in a rush we can help at Castfireplaces
May 10th, 2012So you have seen the fireplace of your dreams but have left it very late to order its quite a common tale and quite often we can help out here at Castfireplaces.
We have had two customers within a week need a fireplace with quick delivery.
The first wanted a Heritage and Chamberlain fascia fireplaces along with two Aurora blak fires but required them for a next day delivery as she had a fitter lined up.
Now this is leaving things to the extreme there not stock items for us but luckily she was only in Derby so i called our suppliers and all the casts where in stock so i went to collect them and delivered the next day to a very relieved customer just before we set off that morning she called asking if she could add two granite hearths too which we had in stock so it all went well.
So today’s tale is from someone in London requiring afirefox 5CB stove in Harrow for delivery this Sunday as they have fitter booked for Monday.
I explained all the routes had been planned ready for loading the vans in the morning but i would see if we could fit it on so with a litlle jiggling about Stuart is now at his door at 7am in the morning before heading off to Hornchurch for his planned 1st delivery.
Why people leave ordering things to the last minute is beyond me and sometimes we cant help these two have been very lucky getting fireplaces and stoves at such short notice.
So our normal delivery estimate is 7-10 days so please allow us a little time it really makes sense to get it before your fitter is due.
So who has over ordered on Limestone Fireplaces
May 9th, 2012So as we approach the summertime and generally things go a little quiter in the fireplace trade as which is normal as the weather warms up we decrease our stocks to what we call summertime stocks.
This is mainly stoves which are very seasonal in sales but we also decrease stock in granite hearths and limestone mantels.
Our suppliers do it and so do we but somehow this year i seem to have over ordered on Limestone Fireplaces this is due to the fact they were in short supply around a month or so ago and i know have far too many in stock so much so that they are piled up 10 plus high in our factory.
We have more in stock now than we should have and its not due to the fact we have not sold as many infact is quite the opposite.
So the blame lies at my door and its my fault im sure our suppliers are not moaning seeing as they are all paid in full for they have even today returned 3 Brompton limestone mantels they borrowed off me when they had run out.
So if you do come to our factory dont be suprised to see over 100 limestone mantels all stacked up to the ceiling height there really is nowhere else they can go at least we will not be running out if they run short again.
So Google does not like our fireplace article section
May 8th, 2012A strange thing but google has taken a dislike towards our fireplace website and in particular our fireplace article section it thinks we are stuffing keywords in and has sent us an email about this.
Just to bore you all we there was a google update a few weeks ago which has kindly removed our website from its high rankings and adjusted us a little lower now this normally through bad linking or keyword spamming.
So google visitis our website most days to see what we are doing and has now decided it does not like our articles section as it considers it to be heavily optimised and suggests we are keyword spamming in this.
So im lost as to what to do our seo team has suggested using a no follow so google does not index it and so i can write away about things fireplace and stove related withouht getting penalised.
We write our articles not for google they are for our customers use and offer help and advice and show our customers what we do and list numerous things we get up to.
So more changes to be made to comply with the ever big brother its ridiculous you cant chat about what trade you are in without google taking offence when for the past 3 years is has loved every word we have written.
You must seal your Limestone Fireplace
May 7th, 2012So another tale of woe this morning from one of our customers in Ealing West London and it involves a Limestone Brompton Mantel which they purchased from us along with a set of closure slips to mount arouns an existing wood burning stove.
So this was delivered a couple of weeks ago and fitted and this morning our customer has rung me asking my advice on how to remove blackcurrant stains from the fireplace shelf.
It turns out his builder did not seal the limestone fireplace before or after fitting and one of his children has left a bottle of juice on the shelf and this has soaked into the limestone mantel.
I have suggested trying to use Lithofin Power Cleaner but i dont hold out much hope the problem with limestone is its very porous and and liquids are quickly absorbed inot the limestone if left untreated.
If the limestone had been sealed correctly with our stone sealer this would have been avoided as the liquid could have simple been wiped away.
So a bottle of power clean i being posted Tuesday and he can give it a try i have also suggested a replacement shelf but at a cost of £125 plus delivery it will be an expensive mistake if the cleaner does not work.
So if you do have a limestone fireplaces please please please seal it the sealer is free from Castfireplaces when ordering a fireplace package or £17 if ordered with a mantel its not worth the risk not using it.