Thanks very much Math for your comments. Firstly there will be no tv unit in here to worry about...we have a separate snug/ family room. Yes furniture placement is not exact on this pic - I just popped a few sofas in to give the effect!! Our house is surrounded by fields and lovely views especially the side with the bifolds so we wanted as many windows as possible to appreciate that. But I do quite see that we will end up with having sofas in front of the LH window wall. Partly why I thought of adding the built in window seats to add extra seating when required without taking up more useable wall space. As it is fairly wide I'm hoping that pulling the sofas in from the wall will mean it won't look too odd. I think it makes sense to have the fire on the far wall if we can as otherwise we will kind of have two focal points with the windows/ bifolds and then the fire. Unless we put the fire in the corner where you have put the unit? Saw quite a cool one on here last night ... The issue is if we put a wood burner on that end wall how high the flue would have to be and would it look weird if you could see it through the lantern roof? Also what special things would we have to do at the build stage to comply with heat regs etc?

If you have a beam which comes out a bit it will absorb some of the heat radiating upwards, I asked this question recently to an installer, he said there may be some degradation, its hard to predict but with a beam, and you can have wood or ceramic which absorbs more, then the damage is minimal. I know sometimes you just don't have the space to put it anywhere else!

I've gone for an open fire. I also replaced a gas fire. The original fireplace had been ripped out but rather than replace it, I went for a raw look which I like. With an open fire lining the chimney isn't mandatory, so I saved money by not doing that. However I did have to get the chimney uncapped and loose brickwork around the top of the chimney removed ( they just made the chimney stack shorter). Unfortunately once they opened it up, it revealed a lot of collapse down inside the chimney, so the work ended up costing £1500 with scaffolding. I don't regret it though, especially because recent high winds brought down another chimney stack in the street, and mine was easily as ramshackle before the work. As for the work involved in looking after a fire, I have central heating, so I only have to chop wood when I feel like a cosy night by the fire. It doesn't throw out as much heat as a wood burner but it doesn't have to.

Hi, I would think it probably is a requirement to have access to the flue for sweeping etc - however your set up looks a bit odd!! In my burner, the flue is accessed through the burner itself, so we don’t have any access from the flue pipe, so no hole. My brothers burner does have access - however it’s a very neat door. Just google woodburner flue pipe access doors and you will see examples - usually it’s a small circular door in either black or a contrasting chrome. Here’s a black version: https://www.woodburningstovesdirect.com/m/product/474/flue-pipe-door-6-choose.htm An enamelled version: http://www.naglefireplaces.com/Stovax-straight-enamelled-flue-pipe-with-door A metallic one: https://www.fluesystems.com/shop/stove-pipe-5mb-250-length-door.html If I was you, I would spend some time googling and then show the fitter to see if he will change it. You might have to buy a new bit of pipe with a door - but it’s relatively cheap in the scale of fitting the burner. The one that you have looks functional but it also looks a bit rough and “homemade”. If I had to have an access door, I would want to choose what it looks like!