Purchasing a wood-burning stove for your home is exciting, but it requires expert guidance and support. That’s why buying from a local showroom offers so many advantages.
By visiting a local showroom, you’ll benefit from personalised advice, hands-on demonstrations, and immediate access to installation and maintenance support, making your stove-buying experience smooth, informed, and stress-free.
Here is why you should visit a local showroom when looking to buy a stove:
Assessing your circumstances:
A major advantage of visiting a retailer is being able to physically look at the stove. Photos and descriptions don’t always give the full picture, which can be an issue if you’re buying online. When visiting a local showroom, you can take a close-up look at the stove or several stoves, check their dimensions, and look before making a final decision. A reputable stove retailer typically employs expert advisors who can answer technical questions about efficiency ratings, Ecodesign/DEFRA compliance, and recommended chimney/flue setups.
Sizing Challenges:
Sizing a stove correctly for your living space is essential. Retailers measure your room’s volume, insulation levels, and ventilation before recommending a stove with an appropriate kilowatt (kW) output. Without face-to-face guidance, it can be easy to miscalculate the correct heat output needed. Oversized stoves in smaller rooms cause unnecessary wasted heat, not to mention making it uncomfortable for you and your family. Underpowered stoves struggle to keep a room warm, which destroys the idea of a stove in the first place!
Surveys & Setups:
Many showrooms offer a competitively priced flue survey prior to purchase, making sure that your existing chimney or new stainless-steel flue will meet building regulations (Part J). Showroom staff often demonstrate suitable hearth bases (e.g., 12 mm non-combustible hearth board, 125 mm clearance to combustibles) and provide sample flue kits. If you buy online, you will need to interpret the manufacturer’s instructions alone, increasing the likelihood of non-compliant installations that could fail local building-control approval or invalidate your homeowner insurance. That’s not to say there will be an issue, but it’s something to consider if you’re not sure.
Delivery and Shipping:
When you buy local, the showroom will arrange delivery and move it into your house – no kerbside drops. If you buy online, this is not always a given. If a part is missing or there is any form of damage, your local showroom is there to support you and assist you every step of the way.
Aftersales:
It’s not just the initial survey, viewing of the stoves, and the supply and installation you get with a local showroom; it’s also the excellent aftersales support you will enjoy. You can often purchase replacement stove gaskets, baffle plates, and firebricks on the spot. Also, local showrooms often have a network of trusted installers, chimney sweeps, and maintenance services which you can take advantage of.
In Conclusion:
Buying your stove from a local showroom has a number of advantages. Having a stove fitted in your home can involve a lot of specialist support and help to make sure you don’t flout various regulations and have a stove which is perfect for you.
Find your local showroom here.
