Stone Fireplace, Stone Staircase, Limestone Fireplaces

Once you’ve made the decision that you would like a stone fireplace, you next have to decide which design you would like, and the choice can be daunting! There are probably 50 different stone fireplaces shown on our website alone, and there are literally thousands if you look on our competitors’ sites as well. The first step is to decide what sort of size you want. Some stone fireplace designs look better if they are in a large size, and others are better suited to smaller sizes. You’ll see examples of each on the special commissions page of our website.

Once you’ve established the size of stone fireplace that you would like, then you need to decide on the style and design. This is a very personal choice: You may want to be traditional, or you may want to be contemporary, and there are countless designs that suit either. You may have a design that you’ve come up with yourself. The beauty of stone, is that it is so versatile. Our masons can make a stone fireplace in practically any shape or form, and if you want your own design turned into reality, then just send us your drawings and we’ll give you a quotation without delay.

Stone fireplaces are truly functional and beautiful at the same time. They have an air of solidity and durability, and a well proportioned stone fireplace (ideally with a log fire roaring away in it) will add great character to your home.

So, get your sketching head on, and draw that stone fireplace that you’ve always wanted.

What more impressive thing is there than a sweeping stone staircase? Imagine an ancient castle, and it will no doubt have a massive flight of stone stairs sweeping up to the (freezing cold) chambers above, or worse, sweeping down to the dungeons below. In either case a stone staircase, or flight of stone stairs is built to last forever! Of course, not all stone stairs do last forever, as wars and the like saw to it that some were demolished.

Castles normally have a few stone fireplaces too. Not least, as mentioned above, because they were normally incredibly cold. It must have been murder in a bad winter to be in those draughty old places, and it was a live saver to have some serf stacking up a never ending pile of logs onto a roaring fire, round which the laird and his family would be huddled.

Stone has history, and so do stone fireplaces. If you put a stone fireplace in your house, you will be adding something that could last forever. It will age well, and is not a ‘fashion’ item. It is traditional and functional, and you will not tire of it. It is versatile, and can house various types of heat source.

Above all it is a thing of beauty. You’re not going to tire of sitting in front of your stone fireplaces with a big fire roaring away, and a whisky in your hand.

What better thought could there be!

The stone industry is one of the World’s oldest. From the start of time, man began learning how to cut and carve stone to make tools weapons, and shelters. He probably didn’t get round to making stone fireplaces  or stone staircases for a long time, but when he did find that spark of inspiration, he already had the skills to work with the stone. It’s not surprising that early man was strong! Working stone is hard work even with today’s modern tools and equipment. Just moving large blocks of stone must have been a daunting task when all they had was manual labour.

A stone fireplace is still a very heavy item. Those made by Manorhouse Stone are made from substantial stone blocks just as were the originals. These are not pale imitations! These fireplaces are made to last and the stone which they’re made from will last for ever.

Stone masonry whether it’s making stone fireplaces and stone stairs, or carving a statue, is a truly ancient art. The best masons have come through years of training, tutored by older masons who have worked on every sort of stone and building that you can imagine. Although we specialise in fireplaces, our masons can make anything.

If you do happen to want a mason for some other work we can probably help

Stone blah blah blah

Stone fireplace installation is great.

Stone fireplaces R us.

God I’m sick of doing these articles!

So if you can possibly get a good supply of logs to burn in your stone fireplace, then you are going some way to reducing your fuel costs and being a bit greener: Burning wood is considered to be ‘carbon neutral’. However, if you’re in the centre of a city perhaps, or live in an apartment block, the burning of wood may not be practical. Your next step is there fore to find the cheapest energy supplier, and if you’re concerned about green issues, then you can seek out an ‘ethical’ energy supplier, and the latter are growing.

The big power companies are ruthless organisations. We’ve had big trouble with British Gas supplying our electricity and giving appalling service. We have therefore changed to Eon.

Of course we all try and cut down on our energy use these days because it is all so dauntingly expensive. So if you are lucky enough to have space or possibility to have a ‘natural’ source of heating like an open fire, then you should pursue it, as it seems certain that energy prices are never going to come down, unless some one invents some very efficient systems.

Without doubt the most efficient method for burning wood is a wood stove. And a glass doored stove in your stone fireplace with logs burning brightly, is a beautiful thing. A wood stove burns wood very efficiently, because the draught can be accurately controlled, and also the heat is not all allowed just to go up the chimney. Made of heavy steel or cast iron, the body of the stove absorbs the heat from the burning logs, and efficiently heats the air that passes over and around it. As has been mentioned before, for efficient and effective use of your fuel, your logs should dry, and ideally that means two years of air drying. This is worth it every time, as it results in maximum heat from your logs, and a minimum of ash produced.

These days, with the ever rising cost of heating fuel, there are literally thousands of stoves available. You certainly won’t be the only one with a stove situated in a stone fireplace!  Some argue that the best looking fire is an open fire, and they’re probably correct. Nothing looks better than a roaring log fire in a traditional stone fireplace.

However, most of the heat from such a fire, goes straight up the chimney, Great! With a stove you lose a bit of the appearance, but gain massively with the heat output! Most stoves have what they call ‘air-wash’ or ‘clean-burn’ technology. This means that the glass stays clear, so that you can still see the swirling flames of your fire. Stoves also contain the ash and dust, so they tend not to mess up your house.

We can supply any stove from the hunter range:

See: www.hunterstoves.co.uk

Limestone is a sedimentary rock, formed when layers of calcite sediment, and the skeleton remains of dead sea creatures are laid down, (settling in rivers for example) and over millions of years, natural compaction turns the sediment into rock. One of the purest froms is chalk, and this is where the sediment is almost entirely calcite, Not that we make stone fireplaces out of chalk!  More often, though, other minerals, mud, sand and other deposits are laid down at the same time and interspersed with the calcite. This explains the many different types of limestone.

Our stone fireplaces sometimes reveal an intact sea shell, or impression where a sea shell once lay, and of course we never know these are there until the stone is finally cut.

Because Limestone is formed in layers it is permeable, and when we make your stone fireplace, we cut the stone using water as a lubricant and cooling medium for our masons’ tools. The stone can absorb a great deal of water in this process, and hence our advice that your fireplace may take many weeks to dry out. This of course depends on where it’s kept. If you have it in a centrally heated building or house, it will dry out much quicker than if it’s in a shed, in the winter.

Limestone also becomes considerably harder as it dries out, and is exposed to the air.

Well that’s not really what we’re called!  But if it is a stone fireplace that you want, and you like limestone, then you should at least give us a try. Our highly skilled stone masons, can work with any stone, and they can make any item: Stone fireplaces; stone stairs; stone pillars; stone copyings; stone mullions. In fact you name, and we can make it!  We don’t only use Limestone, but we find our customers prefer it, both for its beautiful colour and it’s lovely texture.

We have used Limstone for our stone fireplaces for many years. For the last 15 years we have sourced our stone mainly from Northern France, as we have found quarries that contain stone of exceptional beauty and colour. If however you have a particular stone that you would like to use, then we can try and obtain it for you.

What do you want to use for the hearth on your new stone fireplace?  You first need to decide what sort of fire you’re going to have, if any. If you’re having any sort of solid fuel ‘traditional’ fire, then you should use a tough hearth material. This is because, coal buckets, logs, ash and fire irons are all abrasive things and they will take their toll on your hearth over time. That’s why the oldest stone fireplaces (visit your local castle) will have hard clay quarry tiles; stone flags or other hardy materials in the base of the fire. In the case of proper ‘wood-only’ fires, where the fuel is burnt straight on a pile of ash that is lying on the hearth, their is a lot of heat involved and your hearth material needs to be able to withstand that too.

One of the best materials we’ve found for a stone fireplace hearth is clay quarry tiles. Their colour contrasts beautifully with the stone, and they are as tough as old boots. They are also authentic, and we have seen them in many very old fireplaces where they have stood up to the rigours of thousands of roaring fires.

We can make a hearth out of cut stone too, but you must be aware that soot, ash, coal, and logs will inevitably stain it over time, but that again will only add to it’s functional charm.

Whatever you decide, get it installed as soon as you can, because the log fire season is here, and the nights are cold and dark already!!

So you’ve ordered your stone fireplace. Now do you realise just how substantial a Manorhouse Stone fireplace is? These aren’t made from little slips of stone: Our fireplaces are cut from solid blocks of stone. A standard ’small original’ weighs approximately 300kg, or maybe more when it is freshly made, as the stone absorbs water we use when cutting. The fireplaces therefore are very heavy to lift, and when we deliver it to you, you will need some strong labour on hand to help carry it to where you want it.

Even if you’re on a farm and have a forklift available for example, you’ll still need to manually carry it into the house or building that will be its final destination. The sections of the stone fireplace will be wrapped in protective bubble wrap, to protect it against knocks as you carry it. We can put it on a pallet if you tell us, so you can use a forklift if you have one available.

We use a local ‘man and van’ service, and they are very helpful, and will do all they can to make the delivery as easy as possible. It is always best that you’ve decided where you want the stone fireplace putting before we arrive.

Our stone fireplaces are made from heavy blocks because that’s how the original  ones were made. They’re made to last and last they will!

There are few more imposing architectural features than a sweeping stone staircase. The beauty of the construction, and the feeling of solidity are second to nothing. They’ve been used for many hundreds of years too. From the earliest castle tower, to the grandest country house, stone stairs have been used in all shapes and sizes. The castle towers of course always had stone spirals, and they always turned clockwise as you rose, so that the defender had the advantage of space for his right hand (most commonly the hand in which he was holding his sword) The attacker (rising the stairs) had his right hand in the centre of the spiral, and so could not so easily attack. (that’s the story I’ve heard anyway)

Stone stairs in the grander rooms of castles and country houses had generally more scope for variation. Vast and very heavy staircases are to be found in many different forms. Some cantilevered skillfully from curving walls making them appear to rise unsupported. Others rise and then subdivide left and right to stone balustered galleries.

You need not however, have a stone mansion to have a stone staircase. Manorhouse Stone can fit a stone staircase in almost any building subject to structural examination. You can chose a simple un-adorned straight flight, perhaps with an iron hand rail for example, or if you have the space, you can commission an elegant sweeping flight that gives a stunning focal point to your entrance hall.