"tom w" wrote in message
...
Hi,

Having removed the carpet and old gas fire in the lounge of our 30s semi,
we
found the opening to the chimney in decent condition (lintel still
present,
concrete base for tiled hearth still in place) and we've found an original
30s fireplace to fit. We bought a fireback, grate, hearth tiles etc with
the
fireplace and now we're ready to install. We though that we'd get a
'competent person' (as in new regs) to do the fitting, just to keep the
right side of the council, however, the local 'expert' fireplace fitter
has
quoted us £350 + VAT for the install! He seemed to think the fit was quite
straightforward, so I can't understand the price. Is this a job that a
reasonable competent DIYer can do themselves? Am I being naive to think
that
the price is OTT? Can anyone recommend a good source of advice when it
comes
to installing fireplaces?

Many thanks

Tom

Take a look at the National Fireplace Association website
http://www.nfa.org.uk They have a guide that explains fireplace
construction.