I drove to the house to meet with Nick from the Staplehurst stove shop, and because Steve had finished working his magic on Monday, I was met with floorboards back in place, sockets, and pendant light fittings everywhere instead of holes & wires!
A huge thanks to him for pressing on and getting it finished. And I like the new outside lights, so that's one worry off my mind.
I spent about twenty minutes going round inserting bulbs, and cleaning the kitchen sink [the grit from the window replacement (after I'd cleaned following Steve's chasing out) & Steve's making good, made it feel pretty disgusting], when Nick arrived.
We may need to have the concrete plinth enlarged if the Dovre stove we want has to be fitted on a deeper hearth than the 12mm which can be laid over floor boards. He's going to find out, and get back to us.
We'll be keeping our fingers crossed that we don't have to start cutting off joists and shuttering in the void to create a bigger concrete base for the hearth. But if we have to do that, I'm sure it will be worth it, especially once we've forgotten all the process of it happening.
Today, he didn't seem too wary of the suggestion of three pieces of slate for the hearth; we want a central section that will stick out further, so that the door is open over hearth [rather than floorboards (or carpet, if we have to go down that route)], with shallower sections to either side so that the log basket, kindling box, and all the other paraphernalia that goes with a fire, can rest on an easily-swept surface.
He's investigating fitting a heat shield to the back of the stove, so that we could (hopefully) avoid having to re-plaster that wall with heat-proof plaster [and potentially having to hack off all the other plaster on the wall, as it's not supposed to be used as a skim]. He suggested that we remove the existing fireplace [50's-style grey tile], and the fire bricks/rubble that will be filling the hole, and he'll come back and have another look, by which time he'll be able to answer the hearth and heat shield questions.
Nick did say that we could probably get away with up to a 7kW stove; we have three external walls, a long bay and two French windows, with dubious insulation.
Another thing to think about!
But I suspect we'll be sticking with the Dovre; Nick's colleague, Niall, said they were much more efficient than the Franco-Belge, and we absolutely love the one we have in France [the big cousin of the little titch we are looking at for "Brookside"]. And having experienced the one at my cousin's that will either give you heat + a roomful of smoke [the doors have to be open for it to draw], or no heat [but a vague smoky smell to let you know its working], we are probably going to stick with the tried-and-tested.
We'd need an air supply if we go for anything larger than 5kW, so it's another thing to factor in to the thinking, but it might open up our choice of stoves. We'd seen the next size up at the stove shop, and I think the scale would be better visually, as it's a long wall that it will be placed against, and a decent-sized room.
We're pretty sure that we've changed our minds, and will have it venting to the rear [rather than from the top], as Nick said we won't lose a lot of heat that way, and we will be able to fit a kettle or saucepan on the top more easily. We tend to have a kettle warming, even if it doesn't boil the water completely it saves the electricity when we transfer the water to the electric kettle.
And a pan of mulled wine is an especial treat when it's been heated on a woodburning stove.
I was going to pick up David from Headcorn on the way home, so thought I'd take the opportunity of worsening weather to bleach the window in the bedroom; I'd nearly finished when the alarm went off on the phone, and I had to abandon the task.
Oh well, it will wait!
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