Father’s Day is fast approaching so now is the perfect time to start planning the perfect gift for your father to show him how much he means to you. Everyone loves feeling appreciated, and what better way to show how much you appreciate your father, the man who has taught you so much in life, a few things. Introduce him to Firemizer, help him save some money on solid fuel costs for his wood-burner or fire pit. You can also make Father’s Day special, by taking him out somewhere doing the things he enjoy and organise a get together with other members of the family. You could possibly take him out on a fishing trip during the day followed by a nice BBQ with the family and then build a camp fire outside (you could even use the Firemizer you have treated him) and talk about the good old times. After all, the best gift you could ever give someone is your time and being with the people you love so why not spend the day together and do something fun with the family.

We want you and your father to have a really special day so we want to offer you a £5 discount off yo ur Firemizer order this month. Promotional Code: Father

A fireplace is a magnificent feature in your home. However, over time you might decide to renovate your house, which means you will probably have to give the hearth a makeover too. Nowadays, you can just simply reface the fireplace to fit in with style of the whole room. This applies to moving into a new home that has an existing fireplace but it is not how you would like it. Bear in mind that, materials can change over time and the areas surrounding the hearth may show wear and tear over the years so it is a good idea to update the hearth area too, especially when the fireplace is the most focal point of your home.

You can simply change the face of the fireplace for example, if the surrounding area of your fireplace is made up of tiles, you can replace the tiles with relevant colours to suit your new style or if you fancy a big change, you can replace your fireplace completely with a brand new multi-fuel stove or a wood-burner.

Below are some basic ideas of the type of reface you could aim for:

• Stone (from floor to ceiling to make a statement). The right colour of stone that goes well with the rest of the room could add beauty to the room!

Top Tip: Want that country feel? Add character by selecting the larger fieldstones, it’ll change the whole outlook of the setting.

• Granite tiles for solid fuel fires. These types of tiles are made to allow for expansion and contraction from the heat so they are great for your home, you can choose from many different colours to match your room décor.
• Panelling. A great way to give your fireplace a built-in appearance! There are a variety of colours to choose from, so you can easily coordinate with your décor.
• Wall Tiles. You can now get these in all shapes and sizes, opt for larger tiles for a more modern look.
• Add a mantel then decorate the mantel to your taste or keep it simple.

Make the hearth area a perfect place to gather around and enjoy!

These are just a few ideas on how you can re-decorate the surrounding area of your fireplace. If you have any suggestions, please comment below:

You’ve finally got the perfect stove installed, you have had your chimney swept, so what’s the next step? Making the area look aesthetically pleasing so you can enjoy your fire with a beautiful surrounding?

Here are 4 ways to add visual appeal to your fireplace mantel.

Mirror, Mirror on the wall…

Adding a mirror above your fireplace mantel can make the room look bigger, it can also create a sense of spaciousness and openness.

Top Trick: adding a mirror can fool the eye into perceiving more space, depth and makes the room look larger than it is.

Themes

By having a theme each season, you can play around with many decorations, in the summer time you may wish to add fresh flowers in a lovely vase to draw attention to the fireplace. In the spring, you may want to add some colourful plants or light coloured ornaments on the shelf of the fireplace mantel and light fresh linen scented candles to make the room smell fresh. In the fall, you may wish to be more creative and add Halloween decorations, pumpkins, and leaves on the mantel. Finally, in the winter time you can add candles, lanterns and Christmas decorations to give you that Christmas feeling.

Family Photos or Paintings

If you want more of a homely feel, you may wish to hang a family canvas or frame a family photo and place it on top of the mantel for family and friends to see. Camera shy? What about putting up a photo of your pet or a nice painting?

Less is More

If you prefer to keep it simple, just simply add a few decorations on one side of the mantel so it does not look too cluttered. You may even want to add a few logs on one side of the mantel, to give you a nice minimalistic look.

There are so many creative ways to make your fireplace stand out. What are some of your tips?

If you own a fireplace, wood-burner or a multi-fuel stove then it is absolutely crucial that you have a smoke alarm installed in your home. Why? Because it can save lives.

Smoke alarms can detect smoke fast, giving you time to get out of the house if there was ever a fire. The National Fire Protection Association said ‘having a working smoke alarm cuts the chances of dying in a reported fire in half’ and almost two- thirds of home fire deaths are due to fires in homes with no smoke alarms or no working smoke alarms. This stresses how important it is to ensure you have a working smoke alarm.

What you should do:

• Ensure you install a smoke alarm in all the rooms in your house and in the hallway.
• Ideally you should test your smoke alarm every week but it is crucial to test your alarm AT LEAST once a month to check that it is still working or if batteries may need replacing.
• When a smoke alarm sets off, go outside and stay outside with your family, until all the rooms have been checked before going back inside.

For more information about the importance of smoke alarms > Click Here

Once the fire is completed, most people would remove the cooled off ashes and dispose it. What most people may not be aware of is that, wood ashes can actually be very useful!

Did you know that wood ashes can…

Act as a Natural Pest Repellent?

It’s true… wood ashes can actually keep slugs and snails away from your flowers, lettuce and vegetables. Simply sprinkle and spread the ashes evenly around your flower bed, patio or where ever you grow your lettuce and you will begin to notice that the ashes will act like a pest repellent.

Please note: Avoid using paper ash, coal or multi-fuel leftover ashes.

Good for Melting Ice and Snow

The perfect combination in winter.

If your driveway is icy, you can use some of your wood-burning firewood ashes to melt the ice off. The good thing about it is that unlike salt it will not ruin the ground or your soil. Give it a go!

Cleans your Stove Glass Windows

All you need to do is rub a little bit of wood ash to a damp sponge and start cleaning your stove glass window with it. It will remove away all the sooty residue and smoke.

This is our advice on 3 ways to make your leftover wood ashes useful; therefore if you wish to act upon any of the information given you should do so at your own risk. We will accept no liability or claims from the activities arising from the information set out in our web pages.

When you think of winter, do you imagine yourself snuggling up on your sofa all wrapped up warm in the comfort of your own home in front of a cosy warm glowing fire with a nice cup of coffee in hand? When you are enjoying moments like that, how often do you really think about the conditions of your chimney?  For many people thinking about a chimney fire will be the last thing on their mind. However, it is ALWAYS crucial to think about what would happen when you light a fire, after all no matter what type of content you use it in… it is still a fire!

What are the indications of a chimney fire?

The most common signs of a chimney fire are as described below:

• Flames and dark smoke can be seen from the top of the chimney
• Loud popping, cracking and roaring airplane or train sounds that can be heard even by neighbours
• A strong hot smell
• The fire may also burn slowly and silently at exceedingly high temperatures

Warning: In more serious cases, chimney fires can burn very intensively resulting in destroying homes, causing injuries to people and possibly death.

Top Tip: Evacuate from the house immediately and ensure the distance between everyone and the fire is as far away as possible and then contact the fire department to inform them of the situation.

What to do after a chimney fire?

Do not be put off with using your fireplace or wood-burner again, instead talk with a professional and ask them what had cause the fire and how to avoid it from occurring again. Just be extra careful next time and ensure the appliance and the chimney is thoroughly inspected before it is used again.

Refer back to our chimney sweep page for more information about the importance of having your chimney swept.

For more information visit http://www.csia.org/homeowner-resources/the_facts_about_chimney_fires.aspx

This is our advice on how to indicate a chimney fire. If you wish to act upon any of the information given you should do so at your own risk. We will accept no liability or claims from the activities arising from the information set out in these web pages.

The temperatures are low and unfriendly in the winter season which often makes us want to explore different ways for warmth. There are so many ways you can make your home feel cosy.

Here are 3 little changes you can make to give you that homely cosy feeling:

Light Your Fire 

Lighting your fireplace/stove will automatically make you feel warm and cosy, never mind the heat the hearth releases, just gazing into the dancing flames will make you feel warm. Even if you don’t have a hearth at home, just turn the gas fireplace flames on and it will give you a similar effect.

Light The Candles

Yellow and orange lights are better than white lights just because it gives the room a warm glow. Light candles around the house, not only will it make the room look cosier it releases heat too!

Top Tip: Do not forget to blow the candles out before leaving the room to prevent a house fire from occurring.

Feet Up, Snuggle Up

Place a woollen throw or a large blanket over the sofa, it will be available for you to use when you decide to snuggle up in front of the TV to keep warm. By accessorising the sofa with big cushions will make the room feel more intimate and will add colour to the room. If you have wooden floors, you may want to consider adding a large rug (honestly! There’s nothing nicer than stepping onto a nice soft rug!)

What makes you feel cosy at home? Please comment below…

When the weather outside is chilly, finding things to do in the winter can be a challenge, so we have come up with 13 things you can do to enjoy the long winter seasons.

No snow, but want to do something wintry?

• Go indoor ice skating with family and friends
• Go indoor skiing it can be just as much fun and it’s cheaper than going abroad!
• Go for a walk outdoors then come home to a warm glowing fire and treat yourself to a nice cup of hot chocolate with marshmellows

If it has been snowing…

• Build a snowman or a snow fort with your children
• Go sledging at your local park
• Wrap up warm and go far a nice long walk and admire the beautiful snowy wintry scenery

Prefer to stay indoors?

• Do arts and crafts with your children e.g make paper snowflake cut outs, or paint a nice painting
• Bake cookies and decorate them with icing sugar (create a winter theme)
• Put a movie on, light the fire and snuggle up on the sofa under a nice woolly blanket
• Grab your favourite book or start a new novel and pour yourself a nice glass of wine and relax!
• Put on your most comfortable clothing on, wear your softest slippers and do some online shopping! One of the best things about Firemizer is that you can buy it online, so there’s no need to worry about big crowds or queues and the product will get delivered directly to your door – perfect!
• Have an extra warm and relaxing bath and read your favourite book

Do a good deed

• Nothing warms the heart than helping others in need, why not donate food, clothing and toys to a local charity shop, it will also make you feel better and happy knowing you have put a smile on someone’s face.

These are just a few ideas you can do over the long winter seasons. You may wish to do all the outdoor activities during the day then do all the indoor activities in the evening time.

Enjoy!

We would love to hear what you like to do in the winter time, feel free to give us some winter activity ideas below!