A customer visiting our showroom this morning was very particular about the type of agean limestone we have on display and wanted a limestone fireplace that was totally free from blemishes and as white as possible.
Now im afriad it is a 100% natural product and will have fossil markings and even some little marks as its completly a natural stone thats millions of years old.
The agean limestone we sell also has a slight gold fleck to it which the cutomer did not really like and wanted one without it.
Now im afraid thats how they come you should respect natural stone for what it is you are buying a unique individual product and no two are ever the same.
Its impossible to manufacture a limestone mantel without the individual markings its the nature of the stone, over the years we have sold 1000s of limestone fireplaces and i can honestly say nobody has ever returned a mantel saying they did not like it.
If you want a perfect uniform product do not look at natural stone you would be more suited to a Jura-Stone mantel where everything is uniform in its finish as its manufactured.
So they asked if they could have a look through all the limestone crates and see if there was one they liked, thats not what we do here at Castfireplaces its impossible to repack correctly after they have been removed.
So they have gone away to decide what to do next in the search for a perfect limestone im not sure they will find a solution.

There is nothing better than an individual fireplace and that is what you are getting when you buy one of our limestone fireplaces.
These are made from solid Agean or Portuguese limestone which is millions of years old and really is a natural product and as such will have markings such as fossils etc.
This is quite common in limestone and should not be considered to be a defect to produce a limestone fireplace with no markings would be impossible let only very costly.
So any markings should not be considered to be defects they are all part of owning a truly unique stone fireplace no two mantels are ever the same.
That said limestone is pretty unifrom in colour and fossils and markings are kept to a minimum where ever possible so you would not expect to have a limestone fireplace thats covered in markings.
As limestone is a very porous stone it needs sanding and sealing after fitting which is then the ideal time to smooth away any small chips or marks.
It then requires sealing prior to be used to ensure it retains looking good for years to come so purchase yourself a unique limestone fireplace and join 1000s of our other happy customers who have one of these wonderful fireplaces .

On our website we sell Agean limestone hearths as an individual item and to be honest we don’t sell a huge amount of them compared to granite, tiled or slate hearths.
It’s a very funny colour to have as a hearth being white and limestone soon picks up the dirt too, i can testify to this as our showroom limestone hearth has to be cleaned weekly where people have caught it with their shoes etc.
To be honest i don’t personally think it’s a great idea to have a limestone hearth as a choice option and advise our customers against using it but some of our customers do choose this as an option.
We do not currently have this listed as a hearth choice in our drop down box but if you do require a limestone hearth for gas or electric use only they can be added to the package price @ £50 the same price as a slate one.
These hearths cannot be used for solid fuel use due to cement seepage and always be sure to use white cement when fitting them our fireplace fitter always pva seals the underside and uses a bag to to avoid any cement seeping through.
So if you are sure you do want a limestone fireplace hearth just give us a call or add a note on your website order they are available in standard sizes

So 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 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.

Hooray yesterday and today we have taken delivery of loads of limestone mantels and im pleased to say we are fully stocked again of all sizes and styles of all the fireplace mantels we offer.
We did have a shortage of certain sizes and ran out of 42″ mantels in both Corbel and Brompton designs, these stocks have been replenished just in time as we are delivering two of them to the North West tomorrow.
Our order was delayed due to the fact they decided to wait and fill a 40ft container delaying the lead times of around 3-4 weeks making us run short on all items and completely run out of certain items.
Anyway problem solved we know have everything back in stock in limestone mantels and are again able to offer our quick turn around on these items.
So if you wish to order a limestone fireplace package we do have them all in stock ready to go and have relisted all our items on our website to show them back in stock.
I must say it was a joy today unloading them in the rain and i was soaked by the time we had finished unloading them, they have now been restacked into our storage areas and are again stacked to the roof awaiting new homes.

When choosing a fireplace package most customer have an idea of exactly what they are after and have an image of the fireplace they require to fit into their home.
It has to be something that pleases them and not always essential to have the same period look as the rest of the home, its always nice to see original fireplaces but im afraid they are very scarce and also very expensive.
So most people look to replace a fireplace when either decorating or renovating rooms to form a main focal point for the room, with modern heating systems it does not need to be a source of heating as they were originally designed to be.
I always say to customers to go with something they like and not to be tied in with the date or the house its far nice to look at something yo have chosen for its looks than be tied to something thats nice but not quite what you are after.
Thats why limestone is such a popular fireplace material it looks traditional with a modern twist its not been used very long for mantel manufacture and since Gallery introduced it into the range it has grown hugely.
I personally am a big fan of the this natural stone and think it looks fantastic around an arched or tile fireplace and works very well.
Still cut in traditional styles it gives a modern edge to a tradtionla fireplace which im sure is why it is very popular

What the hell is going on on the Uk petrol forecourts people queing to buy fuel incase of a threatened strike, what a weird world we live in it took me 20 minutes today to fill one of our vans for Fridays delivery to York and Hull etc.
What struck me was the age of people buying the fuel all old people who probably do no more than 20 miles a week,anyway enough talk about fuel we have our own shortage here at Castfireplaces and it doe not make good reading.
Ladies and Gentelman i can tell you we have a huge shortage of Limestone Mantels and are running out fast and expect to be out of stock in 48″ mantels this week and out of 54″ in two weeks.
No please do not start panic buying limestone fireplaces we are expecting a delivery at the end of April so if we do run out its only going to be a 2 week wait until they return to stock.
I was aware a few weeks ago of the lack of stock and did increase our stock levels back upto our winter amount, basically the company in China are late shipping and what should have been arriving 3 weeks ago on a 20ft container is now arriving on a 40ft container at the End of April.
Luckily for us its Summertime and people don’t mind waitning a little longer ill let you know when they run out of stock but we only have 2 48″ Brompton limestones left and 9 54″ versions.
We are already out of stock of various 42″ and 48″ mantels and our website has been updated to show this, so if you are looking for a limestone fireplace and need it in a rush just check with us 1st before ordering to make sure we have it in stock ready to go.

So another long day at Castfireplaces and im just finishing off sunny weather is supposed to stop people buying fireplaces and think about BBQ and beer not at Castfireplaces it seems.
Today i have heard a tale of woe from a customer of our who orderded a Agean Limestone Fireplace Package and opted for an Agean hearth to a match.
We do sell agean hearths on our website but to be honest we only sell a few of them as we do not offer them as part of our fireplace packages.
They are very fragile items and limestone being a porous stone is not ideal for a hearth i always explain this to customers requiring a limestone hearth and most change there mind.
Anyway todays little tale comes after we have delivered the fireplace and it has been fitted and off the fitter goes and the customer rings me asking about two brown stains on the hearth and how to remove them.
Limestone marks very simply and its common when fitting to sand the whole fireplace or hearth in this case and seal with a stone sealer to ensure dirt does no soak into it.
I asked the customer about the marks and he said they were the size of dinner plates, now either the fitter has huge hands or has doen something very wrong fiitting this.
He text me a photo and straight away i knew what has happened he has used normal building sand a cement under the hearth and levelled it on that this is perfect for granite and slate but not limestone.
The reason for this is limestone is very porous so it has sucked the moisture from the cement straight through the hearth leaving a gravy like stain on the top surface.
Im afriad it will not dry out and the hearth is ruined and will have to be replaced
You need white cement to fit a limestone hearth and normally a barrier in between and any fireplace fitter used to fitting this type of products knows this so im afraid he has gone off to see what his fireplace fitter is going to do about it.
If in doubt just ring us before installation we are here to offer help to our customers

Quite often we have customers call our office enquiring as to whether we can make limestone fireplace mantels in sizes to suit the chimney breast they have.
Im afraid this is not an option as they are not manufactured by us they are in fact made from Turkish limestone and manufactured in China.
We could order a special mantel to be made but it would be expensive and timewise it would take months to arrive, now we can do some alterations to these mantels.
We can alter the shelf width on some of our mantels if they have a straight edge shelf and also we can alter the opening width on the mantels a few inches by cutting the top panel.
The main way of closing the opening on a limestone mantel is to use a set of slips in the same material as your hearth this is very often done when fitting a stove behind one of the limestone mantels.
So if our limestone fireplaces are not quite perfect in size please give us a call and discuss your requirements and we will see if anything can be done to alter it to the sizes you require.
One last thing dont forget to seal the limestone before or after fitting it really is essential