A selection of original & owner modified BISF house fireplaces.
Protype BISF fireplace
Protype BISF fireplace
Protype BISF fireplace
An unusual large brick fireplace takes centre stage in this open plan room.
Large mirrored fire surround
This fireplace is an imposing sight
This fireplace has been removed and replaced by a radiator and cover.
The original open fire place appears to have been removed and blocked up, to allow for the placement of ornaments.
This is a wall mounted electric fire which allows for the fireplace to be totally remove.
This room displays a traditional inset gas fuelled fire with a simple fireplace surround.
The sooting on the white fire stones indicate that there may be a combustibility issue with this fire.
This fire appears to be a Baxi type gas fire that was often fitted with a back boiler to heat the radiators.
The fire currently sits on a stud panel file surround on top of the original fireplace.
The fire and fireplace will be removed along with all wall boards and fittings.
Early prototype BISF houses were fitted with fireplaces that were of a simple and minimalistic design. This type of open coal fire was usually fitted with a simple water filled backboiler which was located behind the firebox of the open fire.
Today, BISF homeowners across the country have chosen to adapt and modify the original fireplaces nd some of this cretive work can be seen below.
Ironically, we now see a trend of reverting back to having traditionl fires in the home. This is particularly evident with the advent of the modern wood burning fire.
What do you think of the upgrades? Let us know in the comments below.
Thought I’d show how we did our fireplace as it looks a different approach to others I’ve seen in this gallery. We started off removing the blockwork from above the fire.
You can see you are limited how far you can go before making alternate arrangements as there are 2 steel joists upon which the cast iron flue sits.
So we went to just above this point, leaving the cast iron flue exposed. There is also a frame around the flue for attaching plasterboard to, if you prefer to keep the flue hidden.
We liked the look of the oxidised flue and thought it gave the place a bit of character, so we left it exposed. You could also paint or sand it back I guess. So we just removed the steel framing around it to give a cleaner look. It goes right through to the roof but is also bolted at the first floor so the part on the ground floor was just hanging down really.
At the ceiling there was a steel portal that was used to support the flue and the rest of the steel framework. I’m sure a more elegant solution could be found to move this into the ceiling further, but we just worked with it. Boxed it in at the top and plastered. But in the finished fireplace I think it doesn’t look out of place anyway. We topped it with some slate.
Thought I’d show how we did our fireplace as it looks a different approach to others I’ve seen in this gallery. We started off removing the blockwork from above the fire.
You can see you are limited how far you can go before making alternate arrangements as there are 2 steel joists upon which the cast iron flue sits.
So we went to just above this point, leaving the cast iron flue exposed. There is also a frame around the flue for attaching plasterboard to, if you prefer to keep the flue hidden.
We liked the look of the oxidised flue and thought it gave the place a bit of character, so we left it exposed. You could also paint or sand it back I guess. So we just removed the steel framing around it to give a cleaner look. It goes right through to the roof but is also bolted at the first floor so the part on the ground floor was just hanging down really.
At the ceiling there was a steel portal that was used to support the flue and the rest of the steel framework. I’m sure a more elegant solution could be found to move this into the ceiling further, but we just worked with it. Boxed it in at the top and plastered. But in the finished fireplace I think it doesn’t look out of place anyway. We topped it with some slate.