NEEPS

lachlanandmarcus · Posted: Fri Oct 23, 2009 8:16 am Post subject:

donside stoves were a lot more helpful than that to us, lots of advice despite us not buying a thing from them due to their waiting time and also they told us we could get the stove we wanted cheaper (and quicker) by buying it direct from Esse.

We got the plumber to install it (with the back boiler arrangement)

But speyside would be nearer for you.
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IainC · Posted: Fri Oct 23, 2009 7:05 pm Post subject:

It was Donside who provided and fitted our fire front nr 'meldrum, so I doubt you'd be too far away from them to deal with.

They came back within a year to resolve an issue FoC as well... would always recommend them.

PurpleDragon · Posted: Tue Oct 27, 2009 7:34 pm Post subject:

At the risk of sounding ungrateful, I don't think those options will be any good - apart from the names of the suppliers.

I would need to put the flue in an inside wall as all our outside walls have big windows in them - too big to put a stove / chimney around. The flue would have to go thru our downstairs loft and out the low roof.

Thanks for the tips, guys
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lillyann · newbie Joined: 27 Oct 2009 Posts: 3 Location: ctown

we bought our stove from speyside stoves and we got huge discount as i picked the stove i wanted searched the internet for the cheapest one and he matched the price, and we used the boys that he recomends. They were good worked until they were finished and tidied up after them selfs.
the biggest thing i grudged paying for was the chimney lining but my man has just said he got money of that as well. There is a company at mintlaw as well and they have there own fitters.

terrier · Posted: Tue Oct 27, 2009 9:08 pm Post subject:

hi purple dragon,
sorry but cannot recommend an installer. best thing to do is look in yellow pages and get someone to look at the job and give you a quote for installation only and tell you what parts are needed, then order parts from stovesrus - who i can recommend. from what you have described and what i have been told it will probably be quite expensive as you will need to use stainless steel rigid insulated flue (£100+ per meter) and your flue will need to be higher than your roof top. when i was trying to get someone to install my stove they where wanting lots of money for what turned out to be a simple job and had a waiting list of several months.
good luck,
terrier

IainC · Posted: Thu Oct 29, 2009 9:13 am Post subject:

Martin · Neepster Joined: 16 Sep 2007 Posts: 663

There's been quite a lot of talk about picking the local company's brains, then trying to "do it on the cheap" - my suggestion is simple - don't!
If you want to "do it cheaply" by all means go to one of the "el cheapo" internet emporiums, and use whoever they recommend for fitting, but to expect a local company with a reputation to maintain, and guarantees to uphold to fit some load of chinese rubbish is "pushing your luck" - there are many cases where people have "saved money"- often as little as £50, and been bitterly disappointed with the results.
(There are some really good items coming out of China, unfortunately, most of their stoves are at the "appalling" end.........., and I've recently read true stories about one Scots company that tries to make them sound as if they're "Made in Scotland")
Couple of suggestions - firstly, Navitron supply "Woodwarm" stoves which are damned good, and reasonably priced for what they are.......Secondly, here's a "woodburner test site", which may help you miss some of the bigger pitfalls - http://www.whatstove.co.uk/ - and last but not least, expect a full install to cost somewhere in the region of 2-3 times of the "bare stove" - the installation of the stove, flue etc isn't cheap if done properly - it is VERY unwise to skimp or do it yourself/use a general tradesman unless properly inspected- carbon monoxide is a silent killer, and a dead family is a heavy price to pay for saving a few quid!

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IainC · Posted: Thu Oct 29, 2009 9:58 am Post subject:

Yup... I looked into getting a stove online and then getting someone else to fit it locally, and in the end we bought it from Donside, who were able to give us all the info we wanted, and to make the firefront fit the fireplace we had. I think in the end it might have been up to £100 dearer than taking the chance with the same thing off the net, but as mentioned, Donside have been really good at sorting any issues we've had with it so far.

If we were planning on staying in our current house for a long time, then I'd also be looking to fit solar hot water to it as well (nothing feels dafter than putting a fire on to heat the water when it's 20 degrees C outside

)

Martin · Neepster Joined: 16 Sep 2007 Posts: 663

Don't panic! - the "ideal" way is to have a pukka "solar coil" in the tank, but there are now several ways to add solar to an existing tank - if in need, yell, and I'll point you in the right direction!

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Julie · Posted: Thu Oct 29, 2009 1:51 pm Post subject:

I wondered where speyside stoves had gone to!!!They used to be in Keith.

If it's just the means to make tea and generate a bit of heat you want PD, you might consider a gas hob. The only structural work you need that way is a small hole bored through the wall to fit a slim gas pipe through. You have a bottle of propane stood outside and to just run a gas hob, one refill will last ages. I think it must be a few years since we replaced our last bottle for our hob. Sometimes, if it's cold and I want to heat the room up quickly, I put three gas jets on for ten minutes, it works a treat. It won't cost the earth and you can do the job yourselves.
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