Correctly determining your chimney type is the first essential step towards buying your new fireplace. There are three main types of chimney or flue and you can tell what type of chimney you have by simply looking at your roof and comparing what you see to the descriptions below. Please dont hesitate to contact us as we are Corgi Registered and can give you some advise but you may find it easier to have a local engineer check your flue/chimney and give you advise on what you need.

There are three classes of fire which require chimney ventilation; they are named Class 1, Pre-fabricated and Pre-cast.

Class 1 - A stone/brick built chimney

This Class 1 style chimney stack is the most versatile and suitable for all gas fires and stoves. As these chimneys are deep this allows you to choose from a wider range of fires from the deep full depth gas fire through to the shallower slimline products. A class 1 flue must be a minimum diameter of 175mm 7'' (inch) with a minimum height of 3 meters high.

Suitable fires: class 1 / pre-fabricated flue / pre-cast flue / fan-flue / flueless

Pre-fabricated Flue

Pre-fabricated chimneys are suitable for most gas fires and stoves. Due to the depth of the chimney the pre-fabricated flue still allows you to choose a fire with a full depth or shallow depth. Pre-fabriacted flues are usually constructed of metal and found within newer homes. The flue diameter is 125mm or 5'' (inch) with a minimum height of 3 meters high.

Suitable fires: Pre-fabricated / pre-cast/ fan-flue / flueless

Pre-cast Flue 

Pre-cast flues are found in more modern homes and are indentified by the ridge tile on the roof. This flue allows a wide range of slimline gas fires to be installed but can have some full depth gas fires installed into them depending on the rebate on your existing fireplace (min 3''). Pre-cast flues are built in two different sizes which are pre 1986 and post 1986. The minimum height of flue is 3 meters high. 

Suitable fires: Pre-cast / fan-flue / flueless

No chimney at all!

Have you looked round the back?

Never mind, all is not lost! There are still some types of gas fires suitable for your purposes.

Power flue gas fire - this is an electronically operated fan system which is connected to the standard open fronted gas fires. The fan terminal is wall mounted outside behind the gas fire. When the fire is in use you can hear the noise of the fan which is normal and when the fire is not in use it is normal for air circulation to occur through the fire. An electicity supply will be required for this product to operate the fan housing.

Flueless - Flueless gas fires require no chimney or flue and are 100% efficient. The catalytic technology involved in the flueless gas fires 'clean' the products of combustion and as a result of this these fires can be installed virtually anywhere that you have a natural gas supply (this excludes bedrooms and bathrooms).