On Fri, 08 Aug 2008 21:29:45 +0100, Dave Liquorice wrote:

You'd have to check the regs but a gas fire might not require a vent,
just normal room ventilation. Your back boiler will have required a vent
though as its demand for oxygen is far greater than a gas fire.

Indeed. If it's a DFE (like a tray, trough or basket of gas-fired fake
coals/logs sort of free-standing in the fireplace) then you'll need
ventilation equivalent to leaving a fanlight open 24*7 all-year-round.
(Likewise for flueless fires.)

If SWMBO won't go for the old-fashioned gas-fire look, then some of the
fake coal/log effect fires that have a surround that fits into the
fireplace can fairly chuck out the heat (OK, not brilliantly efficiently,
but how long will it be running for?) and if it's 7kW or less you
probably don't need additional ventilation.

--
John Stumbles

militant pacifist