Choose a stove
Decide if you want a free-standing stove, or an inset stove (built into the wall). An inset stove will take up less room, but if it’s a big stove, the downside is that it will need a lot of heavy-duty building work.
Then you can choose a traditional or a contemporary stove. Contemporary stoves can be more up-to-date and therefore efficient. Scandinavian stoves can be cylindrical with a tall firebox. In a tall stove, the oils and gases that combust above the wood as it burns have more space and more oxygen to mix with, to give off more heat. However, the baffles of a modern stove have much the same effect. In the end, the choice is mainly aesthetic.
Heat your water as well?
Clip-on back boilers can be retrofitted. If you don’t need much hot water – maybe for a shower or one radiator – a little stove with a clip-on boiler will be sufficient. A wrap-around boiler can provide more hot water. The body of the stove is surrounded by water, so that most of the heat actually goes to the water, in which case it’s a good idea to have a radiator to heat another room. A stove goes well with solar hot water – as the stove will heat your water in the winter, and the sun in the summer. You’ll need a twin-coil cylinder, or if you have a gas boiler as a back-up, a triple-coil cylinder.
Self-install
In most counties in the UK, you can do it yourself, then tell your local authority, who will send round a building control officer to sign off the work (for a fee). But that isn’t the case with all local authorities – give them a call to check first. You’ll know whether you’re capable of installing a stove and flue system. If you’re unsure, don’t do it.
You can find a local stove supplier online, in the local press or by asking local stove owners. We also recommend Stoves Online, because we’ve known them for years, and know that they are knowledgeable, trustworthy and environmentally-conscious. They have a national network of installers. You can also find second-hand stoves in the local press, on eBay or at salvage yards. With a second-hand stove, it’s important to check that the baffle plates (angled bits of metal that stop the heat escaping straight up the chimney), bottom or sides aren’t almost burnt out, and the firebricks haven’t crumbled.
Find an installer
If you use an installer, they should smoke test the stove and chimney to make sure no smoke is leaking into the house. Ask them if they will do it when you contact them. They do it with a smoke pellet; the top of the chimney is sealed off, and they look around the house for any traces of smoke leaking out. With a good system and a good installation, this is unlikely though.
You can find a recommended list of registered installers here. Installers can be registered with bodies like HETAS. If they’re a registered installer, they will smoke test your installation, sign it off and submit documents to building control, so you don’t have to do it.
Thanks to Sune Nightingale of Stoves Online.