How to install hole in the wall gas fires

Making the decision to install a hole in the wall gas fire is a great way to have a comfortable home heating system without the expense and inconvenience of installing a traditional chimney. In this guide, we'll show you the benefits of a balanced flue gas fire and how to go about installing a hole in the wall gas fire.

Building an enclosure

Location The first and most important part of the construction and installation is to find a suitable location for your site. Choose a location which backs onto an exterior wall and try to find a site for the fire which will be in a relatively central location. You also need to make sure that the fire will not be blocked by any obstacles. If you are installing a hole in the wall fireplace flue in an existing location, then there will already be a gas supply pipe line in place. If not, it is best to get a CORGI registered technician to install a gas supply to your desired location. The next stage is to build an enclosure around the fire, these can be bought ready to fit from an interior design store or you can build your own faux chimney section using dry wall or plaster board. Remember that this section does not actually exhaust any of the hot gases and is purely aesthetic. Try and gain some inspiration for interior design magazines and show homes. When you have finished the enclosure, skim it with some plaster and finish the section to match the rest of your room décor, using wallpaper or paint as appropriate.

Fitting the fire

After the gas line has been routed, the biggest part of the job is to attach the "thimble" to the wall. This device is a British Standards tested section of ducting which lines the hole to the outside. The next stage is relatively simple. Take the section of balanced flue duct from a trust manufacturer such as DRU and lock it onto the rear of the fire using the twist lock fitting. Balanced flues consist of two concentric sections of pipe mounted inside each other. The inside section is the exhaust port to the outside and the outside section uses natural convection to pull in cold combustion air from the outside. The advantage of this is that balanced flue fires don't suck in oxygen from the room, which prevents that "stuffy" feeling. Once the flue section is installed, simply push the gas fire and duct it through thimble and terminate the balanced flue on the exterior with an approved termination plate. Call in the plumber to connect the gas to avoid the chance of CO poisoning.