log burner

unusually I did a bit of planning ahead and got this properly put in, flue linered up and ready to go before the weather got too cold.

My sis has had hers sorted for a while now and very nice it is to light it and sit there basking in the warmth

Mine on the other hand was just stood in place, chimney pointed upwards into the gaping void of the flue

As a result the room was chilly as the heat shot rapidly up into the sky and conversely when you lit it before it got properly hot smoke blew into the room filling it, making your eyes water and making it quite hard to see across or breathe

Enough is enough, this Christmas we're going to have a proper fire!

This is the front room which was left almost untouched when I did all the work on the house five years ago, just put in a new floor with underfloor heating and a couple of built in units either side of the chimney breast. It's where we retreat for a bit of peace and quiet

There's a certain amount of chaos visible here as we're still trying to find sensible homes for everything (I'm still having problems locating things because we're trying to just get stuff away - sensible place or not)

You may have noticed the band of paint stripped off - that happened when the installer taped a cloth over the opening to prevent soot covering everything. He did warm me about the potential for damage and they were incredibly clean.