The brief for this project was to remove the existing woodburner fire and install a Warmington gas firebox with marble surrounds as designed by the architect.

There were many complexities with this project. Space needed to be created within the existing blockwork as the gas firebox dimensions were larger, we had to break the concrete plinth down to the concrete cloor and pour a new concrete pad for the firebox to sit on. We then had to find a solution for finishing the flue cowl. The original fire flue was left open under the pillars and concrete slab. With the new warmington fire the flue pipes were double the size of the old wood burner fire flues and we had to allow for larger casing to penetrate through the top of the chase also allowing for the hot air for the cavity to escape. This meant we had to coredrill a hole through the concrete. We drew up a couple of designs around how we could tastefully finish off the cowl system and submitted to warmington to evaluate. After discussions with them we came up with a solution that both Warmington, the client and Advanced were happy with that would allow for the best performance of the fire whilst being visually appealling and in keeping with the design of the house.

As soon as the scaffolding was erected and the manufacturing of a stainless pot cowl system organised, the coredrilling and cutting machinery was lifted to the top of the chimney. Two holes were coredrilled down the bottom of the chimney to allow cool air into the cavity. Once this was done we could then concentrate on the installation of the firebox into the hole and the fitting and fixing of the flue and cowl system.

Our gasfitter was then able to run his gas pipework from the fire to the gas bottles and test his pipework. The electrician also finished his wiring to the ignition switch. Once completed, the blocklayers and plasterers came in to close up around the firebox. We then fitted the grill covers to the exterior of the chimney and the fire was then ready for the marble detail and after a quick colour change request of the lip burner to match the marble,we then fitted all the components, connected the gas burners and completed a pressure test.

The high and low flames work really well and a spill test confirmed a good draw up the chimney.

Our clients were 'absolutely wrapped' with their new fireplace and thanked us. It was great to work closely with the client throughout the process as the communication played a huge part of the success of this complex project.

This project was managed and completed by Kenny Geenty, Senior Foreman