Hi All,
I know I havent made any posts lately, but this will change soon! I have been working on a new article, on the subject of: Real Fireplaces, Thatched Roofs and their Safety! – I should have it finished, at the absolute latest, by the end of this week, so please look out for it.
Over and out!
Following on from my last post: A bit of elbow grease!, I decided to post another good tip for cleaning / maintaining fireplaces – the cheaper way!
Right,
Go to your local garden centre and pick up some plant shine.. There have been some articles posted on the web, with instructions on how to prepare home-made plant shine, although, as I am not expert on plants and shining them, I will reserve judgement on these recipes 
What I can tell you, is that some of the better; plant-shine-in-a-spray-can, products on the market, can be ideal for shining a fireplace!
An important point: Only certain parts of the fireplace can be shined using this method!!!
Please see the picture of the fireplace below, the RED ARROWS point to where you should spray – if you do happen to spray onto any other part of the fireplace (other than mentioned here), don’t panic, but do try to wipe off immediately!
It is worth consulting your local fireplace shop or showroom, or a fireplace specialist, before you use a particular product (a quick phone call will do), as some products could damage your fireplace!
Once you have selected your spray, you can start the fun part!
Spray on to the black surfaces - try to do it with the windows open and then simply leave to dry!
Easypeasy!
It is possible to get a good deal on a fireplace if you look around!
I had a bit of spare time this morning, so I decided to polish a few second-hand fireplaces up.. You would be shocked at the price we paid for them and you would be probably even more shocked at the fact that I spent a few minutes on each one, apply a spot of polish where needed and…
Hey Presto!
A fireplace worth five times the amount I paid for it!!
The point I am trying to make, is that if you shop around, in places such as Ebay or local fireplace shops and are prepared to do the polishing and cleaning then you can save yourself quite alot of money!
It rather depends on what you are after??
Ciao
Choosing the right stone can be as frustrating as choosing a pair of shoes!
Stone differs so much!
In fact, you can get one variety of stone, two sets and the stone will vary slightly on each..
How annoying? All you want, is the colour of your choice!
Well,
With Quartzite stone, this can be achieved!
Quartzite can be purchased in almost any colour, with many differing patterns… Checkout the image to the left, it’s of red quartzite (Prisma Rosso) - this colour could also be purchased with a clear pattern.
We recently designed a fireplace, for an Ultra-modern room, where the fireplace surround was in this colour – it was a Hole In The Wall design…
Although not my choice for a fireplace, I must say… The finished job was actually fantastic!
Buying Quartzite
I would advise having a browse round your local fireplace showroom, to see what is available – they would normally be able to order this stuff in, this is if they don’t have the colour you are after!
Be careful…
Quartzite can be expensive! It’s adviseable to have a good shop around, if you are going to go for this as a choice!
Before you buy…
Make sure the same can’t be achieved with The Real McCoy!
