Buying guide
How to buy a marble fireplace
We make marble fireplaces for a living, so this is the advice we give across the showroom counter, written down: what to measure, how to choose the stone, and how the process works.
Start with the room measurements
Before you look at a design, measure the chimney breast: its width, the ceiling height, and the depth it projects into the room. Those measurements help decide what will look right. A surround that is too small strands the fireplace in a sea of wall; too large and it crowds the room. If you are buying made to measure, as you would from us, the fireplace is cut to these numbers, so a photograph of the wall with rough dimensions is genuinely all we need to quote.
Decide what sits inside it
The fire decides part of the design. An electric fire needs no flue and gives you the most freedom; a gas fire needs a suitable flue or chimney and gives the most realistic flame; a stove needs a chamber, a flue and a hearth rated for the heat. Choose the fire first, or at least the type, because the surround, hearth and opening are designed around it. Our gas or electric guide covers that choice honestly.
Choose the stone by sample, not by screen
Marble, quartz and porcelain each carry colour differently, and every screen lies a little. Micro marble gives the classic soft veining; quartz brings bolder, more uniform pattern; porcelain adds hard-wearing surfaces in almost any look. Shortlist from the colour library, then order a free sample and look at it against your wall, in your daylight and lamplight before you decide. It is time well spent before the project moves on.
Made to measure for your room
Buying direct from the manufacturer keeps the process clear. There is no distributor between you and the workshop, and because each surround is cut to your room in the size and colour you choose, you are not working around a standard size that only almost fits. Tell us the room and the marble you like, and we will come back with the next steps.
Fitting is part of the job
A marble fireplace is heavy, precise work to install: the hearth must be level, the surround plumb, and any fire commissioned safely. We supply and fit across Solihull, Birmingham and Warwickshire. However you buy, make sure fitting is quoted with the fireplace, not left as a loose end.
The short version
Measure the chimney breast. Choose the fire type. Sample the stone at home. Ask for a clear route that covers the fireplace and the fitting. And if you can, stand in front of a finished one first; that is what our Solihull showroom is for.
Ready to talk it through?
Send a photo of the wall and your rough measurements, and we will come back with the next steps.