Dear Donna,

I would like to fit a wood-burning stove in my kitchen. Are there any design/practical issues I should be thinking about before I take the plunge?

Regards,

Mrs W Chapton.

Our Homes And Property Expert replies:

Dear Mrs Chapton,

Fitting a wood-burning stove in a kitchen is a lovely, romantic notion and can be successful if your kitchen has the right criteria.

The purpose of a wood-burning stove is entirely to heat your home from virtually the one appliance and most have the facility to heat enough water to run two or three radiators. It must be stressed that a stove is not a replacement for a boiler that heats several radiators around the house, nor will it heat running hot water. However, in the right situation, a stove is both a green and an extremely efficient way of heating a home.

Firstly, burning wood is far better for the environment than say, gas, oil or electricity, and as a wood- burning stove gets extremely hot, it emits far more heat into the room than any other type of fuel run appliance.

Another thing to consider is that a stove is nearly always cast iron and so once hot, can be hazardous for small children in a kitchen environment, so unless you have a large country kitchen with an inglenook to safely house such a hot spot, it might be advisable to think about locating the appliance in a living area in the very heart of the home. This is both safer from a practical point of view, but also may serve a better position for such a great heat source to circulate and heat the entire house. By heating enough water to run a couple of radiators, you can ensure enough heat is reaching the upstairs too.

The best advice I can give anyone looking to fit such an appliance is to speak with a specialist fitter, who could come and do a site visit to ascertain the best options you have for fitting the appliance and the additional heating you may require. It is advisable for a stove to have a flue that runs through a chimney, although there are models that can be sited on an outside wall; these need to be carefully considered by an expert as there are certain government guidelines on the extraction of wood-burning fumes.

A good starting point is to speak to Morso, who are a Danish manufacture of wood-burning cast iron stoves. Morso are distributed in the UK by Baxi Fires Division and can be contacted on (0845) 6010836. They would be glad to locate for you a local stockist who can offer you a site visit. The Morso 5060 starts at £882 and the Arrow Apex Stove starts at £499.

All the best,

Donna.