Fireplace installation in Batumi: electric and bioethanol fireplaces and surrounds

What kind of fireplace can go in an apartment

First we decide where the smoke will go. An apartment in a multi-storey building usually has no chimney of its own. The building's ventilation shaft is designed for air from kitchens and bathrooms, not for hot flue gases, and it is connected to the neighbouring apartments, so we don't connect a firebox to it. In apartments we usually install fireplaces that give off no smoke: electric and bioethanol.

We don't touch gas pipes: whether a gas fireplace can be installed, and on what terms, is decided by the gas company, and you need to ask them before the design stage.

A wood-burning fireplace in a private house

We install a wood-burning fireplace with a chimney in a private house, and only to a design. The firebox needs a base that can carry its weight. The chimney runs up to the roof and passes through the floor and the roof in a non-combustible sleeve, and combustible structures nearby are covered with a heat shield. The fireplace also needs an outside air supply, otherwise in a house with airtight windows it smokes into the room. The fireplace and chimney go into the design before the rough stage, together with the interior finishing of the house, and are priced from that design.

Electric fireplace: surround, recess and electrics

We build the surround on site from plasterboard on steel profiles to the dimensions of the chosen insert, so the model is fixed before work starts: each cassette has its own recess dimensions, grille positions and cable entry point. The frame is described on the page about plasterboard structures, and here we cover only what the fireplace needs.

• the socket goes inside the surround at the side, so that it can be reached once the insert is taken out;
• a fireplace with a heater, usually up to 2 kW, is connected to a dedicated circuit with its own breaker in the consumer unit, with no extension leads;
• in a closed surround we leave air openings as the insert's instructions require;
• reinforcement for the cladding, a shelf and a TV is built into the frame.

The circuit from the consumer unit is run together with the rest of the electrical installation and photographed before it is closed up. The surround is clad, for example in decorative stone or tiles, after the insert has been test-fitted in the recess.

Bioethanol fireplace: ventilation, fuel and clearances

Bioethanol burns without smoke, but it really does burn: the flame takes oxygen from the room and gives off carbon dioxide and water vapour. We take the minimum room volume and burn time from the instructions for the specific burner. The room needs working air supply and extraction, as described on the page about apartment ventilation.

The clearances to curtains, a shelf, a TV, the ceiling and furniture are also set by the instructions, and we measure them with a tape during installation. The recess for the burner is built from non-combustible materials. We don't put the fireplace in the path of the air conditioner's airflow or by the balcony door, because a draught knocks the flame about.

The fuel rules are simple, but they are the ones broken most often. Refill only a burner that has cooled down, and only with bioethanol made for fireplaces, never with lighter fluid. Wipe up any spilt fuel and don't light the fireplace until it has dried, and keep the can closed, away from the burner and out of children's reach.

A fireplace in an apartment for short-term rental

For an apartment let by the day, we recommend an electric fireplace. Guests change every few days, and an open flame would have to be refuelled by people seeing the burner for the first time. An electric fireplace gives the same flame picture in the listing photos and never needs refuelling. Other solutions for such apartments are collected on the page about renovating apartments for short-term rental.

How much fireplace installation in Batumi costs

The price table has two different surrounds. An electric fireplace with surround, installed, from 3,360 to 5,160 ₾, is a ready-made set: the insert already sits in the manufacturer's surround, and we assemble, position and connect it. A plasterboard fireplace surround or recess, with cladding, from 3,120 to 4,800 ₾, is a structure we build on site to the dimensions of the wall, and the insert isn't included in this price.

For such a surround people usually choose a built-in cassette insert, which costs from 6,240 to 10,300 ₾ as equipment, and fitting it into the finished recess costs from 240 to 360 ₾. A bioethanol fireplace, installed, comes to 3,720 to 6,000 ₾. Heavy stone cladding, a solid wood shelf, lighting and a new circuit from the consumer unit push the price up. The final cost is set after the site measurement and once the estimate is agreed.

What we check when handing over a fireplace

• the surround is level, the cladding and joints are intact, and the shelf doesn't flex under your hand;
• the insert comes out of the recess, and the socket behind it can be reached;
• the heater works in all modes, the grilles are clear, and the surround around it doesn't overheat;
• for a bioethanol fireplace, the clearances to curtains, shelf and ceiling match the instructions, and the burner sits level.

We record the insert model, the circuit diagram and the positions of the fixing pads in the handover file, and leave the instructions and a short user guide by the fireplace.