If you found yourself on this page, chances are that you are working on a project which specifies a bio-ethanol or gel fireplace. But you are not quite sure how to start or where to go for more information. Below you will find some key questions to ask yourself or other people involved in the project before moving forward. You’ll be able to narrow down your options and create a plan of action for your perfect fireplace.
You may have heard about gel fireplaces before or you may even have “GEL FIRE” written in the project documentation. How does this fit into the whole picture? Gel is an old-fashioned type of alcohol-based fuel, which used to be popular about 15 years ago. We strongly recommend that you remove the concept of gel fireplace from your mind and your documents, simply because nobody uses gel fuel anymore in new projects and this might confuse your clients as to what type of fuel they actually require. What you need is BIO ETHANOL FUEL. This is a clear liquid fuel which derives from food waste, usually containing 96% of ethanol and denatured so it is unsuitable for consumption. Bioethanol for fireplaces is an eco-friendly product and the production cycle looks like this:
Now that we have established that you are dealing with a bio fireplace, you need to find out whether the fireplace in the project is a ready fireplace (for example, is this a particular model the architect/client had in mind, or are they just talking about the concept?) or it needs to be BESPOKE to suit the project. If there is no information and the plans simply say “gel fire” or “bio ethanol fire” and include a drawing of a long line of fire, most likely they have only taken into account the look of the fireplace so far. Bear in mind that this look might change if the available space is not suitable to house the fireplace that they originally designed.
You need to find out several things first:
Now you need to find out who will be building the housing for the fire and how they will do it. Depending on the design it may be a steel or stone-lined firebox to house a long line of fire or a surround with an opening to fit a traditional fireplace. In any of these cases, you need to know what materials they may use and what extra work they need to carry out in order for them to build the fireplace structure fully.
If you know that you want a ready fireplace which does not need to be made bespoke for you, it’s always best to order long in advance. You can place your order directly on our website. If you are not comfortable shopping online, give us a call and we’ll help you out. We are happy to keep your fireplace for several months in our warehouse until you are ready for delivery. Note that some models do sell out unexpectedly, so securing your fireplace in advance of the building work is a very good idea.
If you require a bespoke model, we will need more information before we can give you a quote. You are likely to need a good 10-12 weeks from the initial quote enquiry to the delivery of your fireplace unit. Please note that any Black Label (Luxury Line) or bespoke products require full payment before the order is processed and that there may be up to 10 weeks lead time after the payment is cleared. This is worth taking into account when budgeting for larger projects.
Once you have specified your fire, arranged your building work and ordered the actual fireplace, you only need to monitor the work. You will need to keep an eye on any possible changes to the design of the room. In case of any changes, you must consult with us as some of them may be crucial for the fireplace.
You are always welcome to send us pictures of your final work. We feature and promote pictures of rooms demonstrating our fireplaces and we usually offer some free fuel in return for the picture. This may be a nice touch at the end of your consultation, especially when our clients are happy with the final results.
We are also happy to cooperate with architects and designers on a professional level. Please email or call us to discuss.
Good luck!
BioFires – Gel Fireplaces Ltd.
2 Abingdon Road, London, W8 6AF
Tel: 02077241919
Email: info@biofires.com
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