Flue Decision

We have considered the flue sizes for the three fireplaces and have decided to stick with the 200mm diameter for all three. Looking at fireplace designs it seems that you cannot easily get away from the drafts and inefficiencies of open fires, when compared with a log or solid fuel burner stove. A 200mm diameter flue is easily big enough for a log burning stove so we are going to go with one of these for both the basement room and the lounge. The bedroom may stay open, but this is Ok as we both like a bit of fresh air in the bedroom, and to be honest, the bedroom fireplace is probably never going to be used - for show only.

For the lounge, there are some good log burners which work (though less efficiently) with the doors open. You therefore get the benefits of an open fire if you choose to e.g. Country-Franklin stoves.

Thanks for the inglenook advice Ted, but we are going to keep things simple, and not upset the builder too much by changing things at this late stage ! We should perhaps have thought about these details a bit more in advance, especially as we had the big delay in which we really twiddled our thumbs. I think this is one of the big learnings we have had so far. If you want a big fireplace, fancy windows, unusual staircase, it really is best to think about it early in the design and get it spelled out before you engage a builder. I should know this really, from years doing Software Engineering - much easier to change things on paper before anything is costed, designed or built, rather than afterwards. Never mind, next time............