Advice

Worth reading before you commit

Buying guides, installation case studies and practical advice — so you arrive at your consultation knowing what to ask.

Buying guides

Start here

Buying guide 8 min Choosing a fireplace: a buying guide Start with the room, not the catalogue. How to choose a surround that suits your chimney breast, your fuel and the way you use the room.

Buying guide 9 min Choosing a stove and fuel: a buying guide Gas, electric, wood or multi-fuel — what each needs from your home, how to size a stove properly, and the rules that now apply to wood burning.

Case studies

Installations, in our customers’ words

Case study · Woodley, Reading A Gazco Vogue Midi gas stove for a conservatory in Woodley A gas stove for a conservatory, with the gas supply work carried out as part of the same job. Read the case study

Case study · Cookham, Maidenhead Sourcing an electric fire for a Victorian fireplace in Cookham An electric fire for an original Victorian fireplace, where very few suitable models were available. Read the case study

Advice

Practical questions, answered

News 4 min Why we closed the showroom and came to your living room instead On 31 March 2026 we closed the Oxford Road showroom and moved to a more personal service: we come to you, with the brochures and the samples.

Advice 5 min What a home survey actually checks A survey is not a sales visit with a tape measure. Here is what gets checked, and why each item can stop a job if it is missed.

Advice 6 min Media walls: what to know before you commit Heat, cable routes, TV height and the recess depth you cannot change later. The avoidable mistakes, in the order they happen.

Advice 4 min How often does a gas fire need servicing? Once a year, by a Gas Safe registered engineer. What a proper service covers, and what can happen if it is skipped.

Advice 5 min Fireplaces in period properties around Reading and Henley Victorian openings, conservation areas and chimneys that have been capped for decades. What is usually possible, and what is not.

No showroom. We come to you.

Book a free in-home consultation

We visit your home with brochures and samples, look at the room and the chimney, and help you choose. No charge, no obligation, and no showroom to drive to.

Book a survey Or call us 0118 959 4646