life - PROPERTY
Fitting a real fire is the best thing
you could ever do in your home.
Recently a friend of mine
told me about a wood
burner he’d had installed.
He insisted it was the best
thing he had ever done. This
got me thinking...
I made a few enquiries, had a
look on the internet and then gave
Corralls a call. The Charnwood
Wood Burners are made locally on
the Isle of Wight by A.J. Wells and
are not only sold on the island but
are sold world-wide. I was assured
by some of my friends who had
them fitted in their homes that
18
these are one of the best wood
burners on the market, with the
added bonus that they are a locally
made product. Within a few days
Marcus Ward (Sales Manager) from
Corralls called round, we sat down
with a cup of tea and spent at least
two hours talking about the benefits
of wood burners. What worried
me the most was the fact we had
no chimney, not a problem Marcus
stated, “we fit many wood burners
that require a chimney being built.”
I asked Marcus how hot do they
get, will it sufficiently heat the
downstairs? “it will get so hot you’ll
have to open a window” I thought is
this just sales patter. We will have to
wait and see I suppose.
I selected a wood burner on
Marcus’s advice (an Island II - 8kw as
pictured) they can supply an Island
III (12kw), however I was told that
this would be unbearable heat, I
took their advice and opted for the
Island II as our lounge is an average
size. (25ft x 20ft)
Another issue was the 50” LCD
flatscreen TV, can we hang it
above the fireplace as I was really
concerned about the heat and the
weight of it? Marcus assured us that
a few customers had already done
exactly this, and that all the wires
can run hidden within the chimney
breast itself. That was it, we agreed
a price and a date for the work to
commence.
On the day of installation they
actually turned up and on time!
Clive the builder who was born
and bred on the Island got to
work straight away building our
new chimney breast. After a few
cups of tea and a round of bacon
sandwiches the chimney breast
was taking shape. As you can see
from the photos (right) by day two
the chimney breast had progressed
up through the roof. On day three
the actual chimney stack was built
and topped off with a chimney
Island Life - www.isleofwight.net