Using solid fuel fireplace with B&Q marble surround

[Alex]

Dear all,

I have managed to get myself one of the B&Q 'micro marble' surround & hearths nice and cheap from ex-display today.

I would like to fit it temporarily, until I have the money to get a new gas fire (much as I love open fires, it's just got to go :( .

I have no problems with fitting it or mating it up to the open fire we have, but am worried about the heat produced & if it will damage anything.

Here is a link to the fireplace:

is of the normal construction that I have seen with marble fireplaces, i.e. with small marble blocks glued with a plaster-like substance to brace the joints.

Thanks in advance for any advice you can give.

Alex

[andrewpreece]

The link doesn't work - I get a blank page. It is customary for solid fuel fires to use a 'slabbed and jointed' construction for the surround and hearth i.e. the surround is made of three pieces glued together, ditto for the hearth. The theory is that solid fuel fires are unpredictable in their heat output so cracking of a one-piece surround or one-piece hearth may result, hence the custom of dividing the marble/stone into three pieces, lessliable to crack overall if overheated.

Andy

[Alex]

fireplaces,

Dear Andy,

Many thanks for the reply.

The link has wrapped itself, you need to include both lines of it.

The surround is made up of 3 (actually more than this, due to it's design) slabs of marble, however the hearth is a single piece, with the sides & front glued on & braced with marble blocks.

Risky to install for a winter's worth of log fires? The fire does not rest directly on the back hearth by the way, it is supported in a fire basket - I can put my hand quite comfortably on the current hearth while the fire is on (although the hearth is hot).

Regards

Alex