I 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.

A customer contacted us yesterday regarding fitting a cast iron fireplace and as to whether the Pembroke Fireplace can be used on a flat wall for electric use.
Im afraid the answer is NO all our cast fireplaces are designed to have a cast iron back on that needs to go into the fireplace chamber as they are designed to be a working fireplace.
The only option is to open up your chimney breast to the dimensions required or construct a false chimney breast from studwork and plasterboard to the required sizes.
If you do have a flat wall you can not get the depth required to house a cast iron fireplace the false chimney breast option is the best idea.
It only needs to be around 7″ deep to house most of the cast iron fireplaces we offer then you can fit it with an electric fire or the new bioethanol fires we arrriving shortly.
This will then allow the fireplace to be fitted to the front of the chimney breast and the back fitted inside the false studwork it will make a far better feature this way creating a chimney breast it looks more authentic than just fitting on a flat wall.
If you do not wish to go to so much work there are alternatives in our Modern Fireplaces Section where you can choose fireplaces that will work on a flat wall but they are not as traditional looking as the victorian style fireplaces.
If in doubt please contact us and we can advise you what will work.

An email 1st thing this morning from a customer in Cardiff South Wales who purchased a Pembroke Black Fireplace Package from us a few weeks ago and who has had it fitted and now has had an accident with it.
Well i say them its actuallly the builder who has damaged it basically looking at the email he has scratched which luckily is not the end of the world.
When you scratch one of our black fireplaces it goes down to a white finish under the cast and depending on how deep the scratch is depends on what needs to be done.
When it is missing a lump out of it it needs filling and respraying the whole fireplace to get rid of it, we use a car body filler then sand it back in and repaint the whole of the fireplace so it matches perfectly.
When its just a simple scratch or a scuff mark like this one it simply can be sprayed over, people are very tempted to try and rub the mark off this im afraid does not work very well if you rub to hard as it marks the rest of the area around it.
We use a High Temp Matt Black Spray which if sprayed lightly from around 12″ away will cover it with ease, be sure to shake the tin well to get it all mixed up, also do not apply to much it only needs a light covering when applied it looks darker but it will fade to almost the same colour and will be perfect whne fully dried.
So tin of paint wrapped up this morning and going to be sent in todays post and hopefully another happy customer we are here to help our customers with our aftercare service which many others do not offer another great reason for shopping at Castfireplaces

This afternoon a customer left a comment on one of our posts about help with sorting out a rusting old antique fireplace the comment she left is as follows
“Hi I have stripped my fireplace with nitromors then went over it with white spirit. It has started to rust!! The only thing I can think of is that the house is newly plastered and maybe there was too much moisture in the air? What can I do? I want to finish it so it is back to it’s original state.
I hope you can help”
Now if you have not treated the cast iron and left it in its raw state it will draw moisture from the air and start to rust it just can not be helped.
I have seen antique fireplaces shot blasted and left overnight and in the morning when we came back to work there was already surface rust forming.
The fact they have had the plastering done in the same room makes it even worse as it is a very damp atmosphere and we tell all our customers not to leave cast iron fireplaces in rooms that are going to plastered or have just been done.
I have pointed this particular customer towards the black lead grate polish we sell which is ideal for a traditional finish on cast iron fireplaces its simple to apply and really works well all they need to do is wire brush away the surface rust and apply the paste to the cast iron let it dry then buff to the required finish.
So more great honest advice sent its what makes shopping at Castfireplaces different from the rest

As part of the alterations to our fireplace website we have sorted out some prices with our suppliers so we can again bring our customers some of the old favourite cast iron combination fireplaces back onto our website.
We still supply the Daisy and Paris cast iron fireplaces which are gallery fireplaces but not featured in the regional purple gallery brochures except from the ones we distribute.
We have agreed prices with our suppliers so we can again have back in our the Derby Fireplaces and also the Westminster fireplace.
The Westminster has been missing for a few years now but the Derby was withdrawn by us due to the cost price, whilst still mr expensive than most of our cast iron fireplaces we have secured good deals on them to offer these to our customers.
They will be added to our range again on Thursday and are coming into stock next week for immediate sale, along with these is also the standard range of gas electric and solid fuel options so we have a fireplace for every use.
We have withdrawn certain modern suites and with changes being made to these today behind the scenes these will all go live later next week.
So keep checking back as again we expand our range of fireplaces and i will add them as soon as i possibly can will let you know more about other exciting news as soon as its ready speak soon

Here at Castfireplaces we sell many different desings of fireplaces and stoves from modern suites to something more traditional.
Today one of our customers asked us which fireplace we would suggest would suit a very traditional victorian house, they are keen to have a fireplace that matches in with the type of property they own and somerthing although it would be a new fireplace in keeping with the decor.
After finding out they required an arched fireplace or what they calleld a horseshoe fireplace.
They then said they would like to keep the painted slate mantel they have and i asked the opening sizes which they did not now as the builder had removed it reay to fit a new fireplace.
After running through the options with them and measuring the fireplace legs they have chosen the Radley Black Fireplace with us also applying a black lead finish to it so it looks more authentic.
Choosing it for a real fire ie solid fuel this will get black leaded next week in time for our Southwest run on Thursday and will find itself a new home in Bath.
So another very happy customer given good honest free advice and they now have an arched fireplace that will fit in perfectly with the original slate mantel they already have.
So if you are unsure as to what you require give us a call here at Castfireplaces we really are here to help.

Good evening today i have taken a phonecall from one of our customers who we delivered two Pembroke full polish fireplace packages too back in January last year.
My memory is quite good and i remember her saying she was taking them back home to the USA.
To be honest i had not given it a second thought and today i have recieved a phonecall from Kathy asking for some advice about fitting the gas fires and how to get them fiited to 1/2″ copper pipe what they use in America.
A quick chat with our fitter just to make sure this was ok and i have now sorted a solution.
You can buy a 1/2″ to 15mmm adapter which can then be reduced to 8mm and then run in conventinal 8mm flexi pipe to the gas fire which means probelm is simply solved.
The gas pressure is pretty much the same so this will not cause any further problems and if it does a regulator can bee added inline to later the pressure.
So our customer is very pleased we have found a soloution for her im now just ordring online the 1/2″ adapter and then getting it all boxed up and sent to the US so they can continue with the fireplace fit.
Another little problem solved with a liitle work thats what we do here at Castfireplaces other companies would just say i dont know but here were better than that.

So at Castfireplaces we sell many sizes of Cast iron fireplaces and today i have delivered at my 1st delivery in West London 3 fireplaces
A Daisy highlighted fireplaces for upstairs and two Celtic Full Polish fireplaces for the lounge and dining room.
When i was delivering them i saw the whole in the plastered wall and he asked if they would fit in i told him the opening would need making smaller.
On our website each fireplace we sell has a dimensions tab which lists numerous dimensions for the fireplace and all this relates to that particular item.
We do offer advice and i did offer them the Pembroke fireplaces when we spoke by email, anyway today whilst on my way to Hertford i had a call asking if they can be exchanged for Pembroke fireplaces, this of course is not a problem but the customer now has to pay another delivery charge.
So this could have been avoided and as he is pushing to be in the house for the end of them month it will be another week before they can be exchanged.
So when measuring your fireplace or stove if your not sure what will fit best give us a ring or email us we are here to help you choose the correct item 1st time without any problems.

Good evening just a quick post before we have friends round this evening and i have just come off the phone to a customer asking if they can use the Pembroke Full Polished Fireplace Package for electric use on a flat wall.
Im afraid the answer is no but another online retailer has told her it can be used for this purpose.
Now where they get this idea from i have no idea as the pembroke has a cast iron back that needs an opening in a chimney breast of 28.5″ High and 22″ Wide it also needs to be 6.5″ deep so how the hell is that going to fit on a flat wall.
This sort of incorrect advice is supplied by telesales staff who have no idea about the products they are selling and frankly companies who use this sales system should not be in business.
Choosing a fireplace or stove is not always a simple matter there are things that need to be taken into consideration such as flue types, type of fuel you intend to burn etc.
This advice needs to be obtained from someone who knows what they are on about and who has experience in the fireplace trade.
Thats why shopping at Castfireplaces is i believe the best online no lies for a sale we always give honest correct advice and pride ourselves on this.
So if you are unsure email ring us or even write to us we can make sure you do not make a costly mistake and as for the lady in question she now has a barcelona fascia panel and elecrtric fire on order and is happy she phoned Castfireplaces

Mainly on our website we have always stocked the gallery range of fireplaces and stoves and to be honest these from the largest part of our business.
We do stock certain items from Carron and their full range is available for our customers to buy.
We are in the process of having website built to feature the full range of Carron fireplaces and also another site offering modern fireplaces.
All these things take time to make sure they are perfect and i have just approved the layouts with our designers, whilst very similar to the castfireplaces website in buying format they will be websites that offer the carron range at the same competitive price structure we have here at Castfireplaces.
We are very happy with our current website and how it works so really do not want to clog it up or add further categories to enlarge this is as i feel it will make it harder for customers to find exactly what they are after.
So soon you will be able to order the full range of Carron Fireplaces or Jig fireplaces as they used to be called.
Of course i will inform you when it is ready for you all to view and in the meantime if you do require a carron fireplace or stove and its not shown on our website just give me a ring and i will sort a price out for you