Creating a beautiful fireplace is easy with our simple guide…

A fireplace is the ultimate focus for a room. ‘But oh, the cleaning!’ you cry. Yes, all that ash can be a real pain, but when it comes down to it you’ll only be spending a few minutes every few days on your hands and knees with a pair of rubber gloves on and a little shovel in your hand. Think of it like toothache – once the pain is over you soon forget it. If you’re lucky enough to have a real fire in your home, then you need look no further than a stack of seasoned logs or a few bags of coal to keep you warm and cosy through the winter months. But if you don’t, we’ll help you discover if your house originally came with one, and help you create the best fireplace for your needs.

Fueling the fire
When it comes to what fuel to fire your hearth – it pays to know your options.
Oak is the ultimate wood to burn. Ash is superb. Pine is dangerous because of the sparks – never burn your old Christmas tree. Logs can burn on a bed of old ashes quite happily. And this is a good ruse if you don’t want to clean out regularly.

Coal, on the other hand, needs a good flow of air from beneath it so you’ll have to allow for that and not let the grate get too clogged up with ashes. But, to save time you only need to drag out a couple of shovels full of cool ashes in order to get it going and then clean it out fully once a week. Coal burns longer and hotter than wood. Don’t forget to check if you’re in a smokeless requirement area before ordering.

Fire logs (you’ll find them next to the firelighters in the supermarket) are a brilliant way of getting a good fire going in no time. They cost about £2 each, so they’re a bit of a treat. But you just light the bag and away it goes. Then leave it or top it up with wood or coal later – a good standby for short-notice visitors.

Unearthing your fireplace
If you suspect there’s a fireplace hidden behind a chimneybreast in your home, there are a few simple steps take, before you start bashing a hole in the wall.

First, take a look around your neighbourhood for similar houses to yours, and check to see whether they have a fire burning in the winter – smoke curling from the roof is good sign. Failing that, ask them.

Check the outside or your house to see if there’s a chimneystack. This may sound obvious, but some chimneybreast shapes used to house boilers. And check for a chimney pot because you will need one.

Next, head back indoors and knock all over the chimneybreast. Start at the top and work your way down, listening for a change in the sound.

A hollow sound near the bottom of the wall is a good sign and indicates that it’s time to drill a hole in the wall: about 40cm from the floor that’s just big enough to get a little torch in at this stage. If this reveals a void then you might well have a fireplace. A word to the wise, however, if you do strike gold and reveal a fireplace you will uncover years of mess and dead birds and a fireplace opening, which is much bigger than the original finished one was. There is a real temptation to leave it that big, with a lovely curve in the bricks and about three feet wide.

But, the fire might not draw up the smoke at this size, and on windy days you may get loads of smoke in the room.

The best draw comes from a proper clay fire-back. A hearth is critical for real fires, as is a good fireguard.

Don’t forget the chimney sweep, as the old chimney is probably full of birds’ nests and muck all the way up. And remember to touch his collar for luck!

All fired up
A fireplace, whether it burns logs, coal, gas or uses electricity, is a real design feature of a room and there’s plenty of choice. But how do you know what’s suitable for you?

Gas fireplaces: These really do give off heat, especially if you buy one with a built-in heat reflector to bounce heat back into the room.

If you have access to a gas tap by the fireplace and a proper flue, then a gas fire is a good way to go. If you have to have a flue put in then you’re in the enviable position of being able to choose where to position it. Fireplaces are not always at the side of a room these days; having it centrally positioned so that you can walk all the way around might be fun. Glass? Heavenly!

Electric fireplaces: In general, these are cosmetic and not especially hot unless you go for one with heating elements and convection capabilities. They’re gorgeous, clean, and need no maintenance. But it is going to cost you quite dearly in electricity bills if you want heat as well as a beautiful view. You only need to get an electrician to put a fused switch into the circuit for you. Because they aren’t really designed to heat a room, many of the options for electric-flame-effect fires are stunning. Anything chrome will stay chrome, too, whereas a log-burning fire will tarnish chrome eventually.

Stove fireplaces: Log or gas-burning stoves are available to fit in most fireplaces or can be positioned on a suitable base of stone or slate anywhere in a room. They behave just like a real fire so you’ll need a flue, and the services of a chimney sweep once a year. Remember, they really do get hot so can’t double up as shelves for candles and birthday cards!
At the basic end of the non wood-burning fireplace you’ll find a good range in the DIY stores. These are a good place to start gathering ideas but there are other, more exciting options, which you’ll be able ­to track down on the Internet.

Finding your fire
It’s a matter of taste of course and the style of your home will partially dictate how you proceed, but a straightforward cube-shaped hole in the wall might be a good place to start for a season or two.

Until you decide if you'd like to dress the surround. The current vogue is for plain, and as such the undressed cube might be all you need and won’t cost more than the making good and decorating. Better to get the wall plastered and painted rather than wallpaper, which might catch fire. The undressed cube is easy to keep looking smart through the summer months, too, and can be filled with fresh logs, a wine rack, some dried flowers or candles.

Still on the plain side is a flat stone surround, with or without a mantle shelf. One of the advantages of this is the fireproof quality of stone. Thereafter, you get into the realms of more elaborate designs, which are probably best fitted for you by the company you buy it from. They can be built to your requirements, to match the shapes of other features in the room.

Gel fires
These aren’t really fires at all, but they’re worth a mention while we’re on the subject of fires. The small ones are springing up everywhere and being marketed as an alternative to candles. These of course don’t give off much heat at all and are purely a flame. But they’re superb for using in a fireplace with a mirror behind, as a flame feature during the summer months but they’re a little scary to use indoors without chimney protection. The gel refills aren’t exactly cheap but they do burn for a few hours each.■

Nick says
‘Fireplaces make a great focal point in any room – whether you have a modern surround, an inglenook, like you’d find in Elizabethan or Tudor times, or just a big open fire. Just ensure you exercise due diligence.’