When you first take delivery of your new fireplace or stove there is a little leaflet with the cast iron fireplaces this tells you about Care and Maintenance of your fireplace. It is normally in the bag that the fireplace comes with, basically it tells you how to keep item clean etc and what not to use on it. It briefly mentions tempering a fireplace, which is something; I am going to explain so you don’t make a costly error.
When the fireplace arrives it has been transported and stored for a long time since it was originally cast. Cast iron will absorb moisture from the air so when you first light the fireplace its very important you DO NOT build a huge fire as this will just simply crack the fireplace as the cast iron need to be tempered first. This process involves lighting a small fire with wood for two or three times gradually building it up each time until after a few days the fireplace will be tempered and you can then start to use Coal etc on it or have larger wood fires. It really is important to follow this process after the fire has been stood for along time i.e. over the summer as the cast iron will again need tempering before daily use. Stoves are more prone to damage by not tempering properly as moisture will build up in the brick linings and as it’s sealed with the glass door you tend to get more moisture build up. I would recommend having a week of small fires in the stove to make sure that before you load it up its well tempered and ready to handle the large heat outputs that they generate, just a quick note on the bricks don’t worry to much if these crack as long as it doesn’t crumble away there simple to fix with a little fire cement saving the price of a new set. That’s all there is to tempering and if you follow this simple process you can be assured that your fireplace will last a lifetime.
Archive for May, 2009
Tempering your Fireplace or Stove
Sunday, May 31st, 2009May sees new fireplace stock arrive
Saturday, May 30th, 2009Where has this Month gone we have been busy at Cast Fireplaces what with the new showroom design finally starting to be realised and new stock that has arrived that was ordered what seem ages ago along with day to day running of our family business. In the fireplace industry everything is about planning due to the lead times of stock arriving we have to plan what we expect to sell over the next few months so our great suppliers can get it ordered and ready for us. Lead times can be as much as 12 weeks so items we intend to feature over the winter need planning and ordering now to ensure continuity of stock supply. This month we have had new stock arrive in the form of Malton Surrounds, Oak Langley and Diamond Solid oak Surrounds, Wessington and Triple Bow MDF Surrounds all of which we have had to take photos of and post on our website. We have seen a surge in the sale of solid fuel stoves strange seeing as its 23 degrees today, but I’m not complaining. We have also seen a number of Property developers and Builders starting to order multiples of items again so hopefully fingers crossed things are finally moving in the right direction in the housing trade and we continue to see homes upgraded and new fireplaces installed as part of house renovations. General sales to private customers are up from last year too so that’s also encouraging its nice to see people are spending on there homes again after all the doom and gloom.
Next Week is the fireplace show at Harrogate so of we go to see what new designs and styles are being offered by the Manufacturers and importers to see if there is anything we feel would be an addition to the range we already offer I will keep you posted on this and post any articles on nay new items we buy.
Its Rhians birthday on Monday so I’m now off with the kids to buy cards and they want to choose another present for mum anyway we all couldn’t run without her so have a nice sunny weekend.
We also Sell Gallery Fire Baskets
Friday, May 29th, 2009We also sell the Gallery range of Fire baskets here at Cast Fireplaces. We have supplied these items as part of the Gallery range of Fires. We do a brochure full of these baskets which are more than happy to post to you. The range on our website is split into three sections
Firebaskets (Contemporary) is the 1st section which shows all the Modern Firebaskets available to buy as a freestanding item to put into your chimney breast. They come in a range of designs and are Modern and simple and compliment any modern Living Area
Firebaskets (Period) is the 2nd Section where again we list individual baskets of a more traditional antique look. These Baskets are designed on inspirations form Victorian and Art Nouveau Eras. For the larger chimney openings we also do a full range of Firedogs and Swans Nest baskets.
Firebasket Suites is the final section which are updating which will list fire basket suites complete with surrounds, hearths, Chambers etc to form full packages where everything you need is included in the price for those who want to have a complete suite from scratch. This section offers unbeatable prices on all our suites.
All the firebaskets we do have options for Solid fuel Gas and electric and they come in various different finishes of Black, Highlighted, Full Polished, Chrome. You can then choose to add Pebbles, Logs, Driftwood, and Coal etc as the fuel bed choice for gas use.
Have a look at the sample photos below and click through to the various sections to choose a new Fire Basket for your home
Â
Victorian Period Basket
Matrix Contemporary Basket
Wessington and Triple Bow Modern Fireplace Surrounds
Thursday, May 28th, 2009The last of the new Modern Fireplace Surrounds we sell are being listed on our website and they are the Following
The Wessington Chamfered Mantel
The Triple Bow Mantel
Both are made from Oak Veneered MDF which is basically thin strips of oak timber which has then been glued to man made Fibre Board. They are very stable and you will get no movement at all in MDF.
We offer both of our veneered surrounds in two finishes view photographs below
Light Natural Finish (as shown on Triple Bow)
Dark Oak Finish (as shown on Wessington)
Both these mantel are of similar size and have a shelf width of 48†and are suitable for use with our smaller arched inserts and the Granite panel sets.
The Wessington is chamfered mantel so as you can see from the photo the legs are chamfered to form a feature you do not normally find on fireplace surrounds and to complete this surround it has an 8 ¾†bowed shelf.
The Triple Bow is as it’s described three small tiers form the inner edge of this surround and the frieze panel has a slight bow to it making a distinctive feature to this surround.
Both will be available to buy from our website over the next few days as we finish adding them so take a look at the samples below and order a new Modern fireplace for your home.
Triple Bow Light Oak Finish
Wessington Dark Oak Finish
Langley Solid Oak Fireplace Mantel
Wednesday, May 27th, 2009The Second featured item of our new Modern Fireplaces is the Langley Solid Oak Surround. This Oak mantel has no overhang on the shelf so it is made in a box section style that is very simple. Made form 100% solid American oak and finished in a natural oiled finish it is a very simple design fireplace surround and is perfectly suited to Modern Day Living. With a size of 52†shelf width and an opening of 34†x 34†this surround will take a lot of our Larger Arched Inserts. On our Website we have listed them as Gas, Electric and Solid Fuel packages such as the Coronet and Langley solid fuel package this shows how the Modern surround can be mixed with a simple arched fireplace to create a Cast iron fireplace package that has modern appeal.
This design of surround is also suited to electric and gas packages with the simple Granite Panel and hearth set and we have listed those too in Our Modern Fireplaces Sections which comes with the Fires and a choice of trim and fret to personalise the look you are after. Also available is the new Gallery Aurora high output glass fronted fire which has also been photographed with this mantel so as you can see from the photos below this surround will work well with a lot of the current range we offer that’s why we are sure we will have a great selling surround to offer our customers a good choice when choosing a firplace for your home.
Coronet Half Polish and Oak Langley
Granite Panel and Langley Gas Hotbox
Made to Measure Granite Fireplace Hearths
Tuesday, May 26th, 2009Here at Castfireplaces we supply Granite and Tiled Hearths in Standard and made to measure sizes we have offered this service since we started and it is very popular as many other companies offer just the standard range. There is nothing worse than if you have stripped wooden floors to see the concrete sub hearth underneath. We can also add the extra price of a made to measure hearth on to our package prices so you can still get a real bargain price whether your fireplace is for gas or solid fuel use. We were contacted by a Tim Renshaw from Huddersfield for a standard granite hearth and a Made to Measure Granite Hearth slab to sit inside the chimney Breast. After a few emails and a phone call the items were ordered on the 12/05/09 they arrived to us last Wednesday and were delivered early this morning. I was amazed when this afternoon a photo arrived of the hearth and the Sub hearth installed with the stove sitting on it. It has now been added to our Customer Gallery so others can see what our items look like when they have been fitted in our customer’s houses. This made to measure service for our hearths takes between 1 –3 weeks depending on how busy hearth people are and you need to contact us so we can get you a price whether it be for gas or solid fuel use.
Hearths Supplied Made to Measure
Â
Work Started on Fireplace Show Room
Monday, May 25th, 2009The New fireplace showroom work has started last week and it always amazes me how much stock we keep when you start to move it around so the Tradesmen can get in and start the new structure. All our old fireplace displays have been taken down and stored away in another corner for some of them to go back on display once the room is finished. We expect the new showroom to be open at the end of July to show you a good selection of the Gallery Fireplaces that we sell. It would be interesting to hear from customers what items they would like to see on display and would therefore welcome comments suggesting a particular style of fireplace from our website. We intend to have the full range of Stoves that we sell and a few wooden surrounds and Limestone surrounds but we have two spare display spaces left and would like to find out what people wish to see when visiting a fireplace showroom. As we sell Cast iron fireplaces these will also be on display in the showroom. So if you do have any thoughts please leave comment or send us an email. The amount of stock we keep will not decrease due to the larger showroom as this is being built on a second floor arrangement so collections are still available and in the meantime you are still more than welcome to come and visit the factory so give us a ring and make an appointment.
High Output and Efficient Gas Fireplaces
Sunday, May 24th, 2009Here at Cast Fireplaces we sell the Gallery and Bliss range of gas fireplaces these are some of the most economical fires that are on the market. If you are looking for a gas fire that provides a decent heat output and is Efficient you cannot go wrong with the Gallery High Efficiency Gas Fire. This Gas fire has a heat output of up to 4.2KW and is up to 83% Efficient.
They have a glass front, which allows the ceramic fuel bed to glow at lower temperatures, and also more importantly no heat is lost up the chimney when the fire is off. These H/E Gas fires come in a range of finishes from Black, Highlighted and Brushed Steel. They also have two designs, which is the flat trim and fret and the curved trim and fret.
To complete the fireplaces they are offered with a choice of fuel bed in Coals or Pebbles. These H/E gas fires are designed to fit all our fascia and Granite panels and will fit a standard 16†x 22†opening so you can easily change the fire without altering your fireplace. With gas prices falling and the exceptional heat output and efficiency there has never been a better time to install a Gallery High Output fire.
Brushed Steel H/E Gas Fire Straight Fret
Black H/E Gas Fire Curved Fret
Increase in sales of Gas Fireplaces
Saturday, May 23rd, 2009April and May have seen a significant return to the sales of Gas Fireplaces. All through the colder months it seemed to be Solid fuel fireplaces we were selling, we do keep all data from our sales and process this to reveal which products are selling better and what if any trends are appearing. This info gives us an insight of what products to stock up with and what size of levels to keep in stock. Januarys figures showed that 31% of all Bargain fireplace packages sold was for gas use when you compare this to Aprils figure of 41% this is an increase of 10%. This rise in gas sales has something to do with the cold weather going and also due to the fact that gas prices have been lowered by our energy suppliers. With this in mind we will need to monitor these figures over the next few months to make sure we have enough Gas inserts and Granite hearths for gas use in stock when it comes to Heating season when the weather changes. Our Most popular gas fireplaces are the likes of an arched insert with Limestone surround such as the Henley and Brompton this package sells very well in gas and solid fuel use as its perfect for most houses.
Also of interest for customers who want fires for gas use is the New H/E gas fire from gallery I will feature it tomorrow as its one of the best on the market.
Modern Fireplaces Delayed by Day Going Too Fast
Friday, May 22nd, 2009Where has today gone it started out with good intentions of adding a load more of our new Modern Fireplace range to our Fireplaces website but that has now gone to pot as its 6.oo pm already. Today started with a visit to our factory to meet customer who had come to collect a stove after showing him all the models we have in stock he decided on a Firefox 5 Multi Fuel Stove that was promptly loaded and he went on his way. Next up was to wrap up and check all the deliveries we have to do this weekend with both our vans loaded it was Sandwich time. After a nice cup of tea it was back to the office to raise delivery notes. Rhian had been busy answering phones and I had two orders to deal with when I returned one who wants to collect tonight between 7 and 8 pm, so another trip to workshop to collect fireplace as he is collecting it from my house. See how dedicated we are to this Business we arrange collections and viewings at times when other Fireplace companies are closed so I am now sat at my office desk wondering whether to upload new fireplaces or just set up my new laptop so I can access emails and orders on the move via mobile broadband. It seems weird using modern technology for a trade that is very traditional but if it makes our customers receive a better service I am all for that. New Modern Fireplaces will be added Tuesday now but we are open over the Bank Holiday just ring or email us if you require any fireplace help.
Â
Firefox 5 Multi Fuel Stove