Fireplaces and log burners are hot!

We came across a site that recently ran a survey with Populus of 2000+ people into which features would make a property more (or less) desirable to buy and it turned out that wood burners and original fireplaces were really highly desired.

Fireplaces and log burners are hot

"Wood burners are designed to bring a cosy countryside feel to any home – urban or rural – so it’s perhaps not surprising that 50% of all respondents said it would make a property more attractive to them, compared with 12% who disagreed. The appeal of a wood burner is fairly even across genders and age ranges.

A related feature that has long divided house buyers – especially property developers – is the period fireplace. The benefits of weighing up an attractive classic feature against freeing up usable wall space seems to be at the heart of the dilemma, but what do the general public think?

Almost half (46%) of respondents are in favour of a property keeping its original period (typically Victorian or Edwardian) fireplaces, with 13% taking the opposite view and the rest not minding either way. That sounds like a fairly convincing win for the pro-period fireplace argument.

It’s worth noting that it’s not necessarily the older generation who like this period feature – 44% of 18-24s were positively for it compared with 36% of 65+ for whom perhaps the charm has slighty faded."

 

So if you are planning on selling your house one day, you might well get your money back! Another great reason to get a wood burner installed!

A winter recipe for your woodburner, Goan Style Dal Curry.

There are plenty of things you can make on top (or even inside) your wood burner but as the evenings are getting much colder we could think of nothing better then this Goan style Dal. It is so easy to make, you can just put it on the stove a few hours before dinnertime and it comes out at just 37 pence per person! (leaving you more cash to save for Christmas!)

Ingredients (serves 4-5)

350g red lentils
1 tin kala chana (brown chickpeas)
1 teaspoon ground turmeric
4/5 fresh tomatoes chopped and seeds removed
1 tablespoon salt
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon of chili flakes
1.5 tablespoon of cumin powder
1.5 tablespoon coriander (dhania) powder
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon brown mustard seeds
1 tablespoon cumin seeds
1 medium onion diced
2 large garlic cloves finely chopped
1 tablespoon peeled and finely grated ginger

Method
Wash the lentils, put them in a in a large heavy based pan with the turmeric and around 1 litre of water and bring them to the boil. Lower the heat, skim off the froth and add the tin of chickpeas, tomatoes, salt, cayenne pepper, cumin powder, chili flakes and dhania powder. Put this on top of your stove to simmer. This can take anywhere from around 40 minutes to 2 hours depending on how hot your stove is burning.

Just before you are ready to eat, take a frying pan and heat the olive oil (on your stove of course!) When it is hot, add the mustard and cumin seeds. As soon as the seeds begin to pop add the onion and cook for 1 minute, then add the garlic and ginger stir for another minute. Add this to your pot of lentils which should by now be lovely and soft and full of flavour.

Serve with some steamed rice and top with some fresh coriander if desired! 

A lovely testimonial from a recent job!

It's always nice to receive such positive feedback!

"Owen from Glow Woodburners fitted a stove for us in Feb 2016. We had fantastic service from the initial consultation through to completion and safety checks. Owen advised us on the type of burner to consider after inspecting our fireplace. He put us in contact with scaffolder and carried out all the preparations necessary including cutting a new slate hearth and rendering the fire surround. We are delighted with the high quality work Owen did for us, our burner is perfect for our room and we would thoroughly recommend Owen to any one considering using his services. We are very happy customers!"

Ella & Sherwin Rice.

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Ekol Clarity 5 installation

Recent fitting of an Ekol Clarity 5 in Bath. 

Stove installed Into the fireplace which was prepared by the customer

Stove installed Into the fireplace which was prepared by the customer

The Ekol Clarity 5 is a DEFRA exempt stove which is a requirement in Smoke Control areas such as Bath and Bristol - we had never come across this stove before and felt it represented good value for money in terms of build quality and features and would recommend it to other customers who want a good quality stove at the lower end end of the price spectrum.