An inset stove is built into a wall or false chimney breast. Inset stoves give you a 'window of flame' in your wall and are available in many different types, for example double sided inset stoves, ones with curved fronts, or huge wide letterbox insets with doors that slide up and into the wall.
Inset stoves are sometimes called insert stoves which are both the same thing. A cassette stove on the other hand is an inset stove with a second layer of metal around the firebox which forms an air gap around the stove. That allows air in near the bottom and the heated air then flows back into the room. Cassette stoves may sometimes be a little simpler to install.
The heat from an inset stove needs to get out into the room so you usually need to ventilate the chamber that the stove is installed into top and bottom. Some inset stoves even let you connect up air ducts so you can run hot air to other rooms in the house. Sometimes an inset stove is installed into an existing chimney breast or fire surround and there are sizes to suit typical UK fireplaces should you wish to do that. At other times you might create a new chimney breast in the room to install the inset stove into, a freestanding pillar or cube, or a whole new section of wall. Often alcoves, log boxes, a television, seating and lighting may be incorporated to make a design feature of your inset stove which might then become what we term a 'feature wall'.
The pictures of inset stoves should give you some inspiration and design ideas but as ever we are here to help so do just also give us a call to talk it through.
