Margate · across Kent

Opened up. Lit again.

WILFS is a two-man masonry team from Margate. We open up old chimney breasts, fit wood-burning stoves, bring cast-iron fireplaces back to life and fit stone worktops, with a free site survey and estimate before anything starts.

Call Tony · 07786 270577 Text a photo of your fireplace

Mon–Sat, 7:30am–6pmFree site survey & estimate

The name spells what we do.

A lit wood-burning stove set in an opened-up brick chamber with a reclaimed brick arch and granite hearth
Our job: gas fire out, stove in

One job, three stages

From gas fire to wood burner.

Before Before: an old gas fire in a wooden surround During: the chamber opened up with a new lintel across the top After: a stove lit in the new brick-slip chamber

The old gas fire and its wooden surround.

    Steps taken from WILFS' own write-up of this job.

    Ask about a stove like this

    From the job book

    Real jobs, in our own words.

    Every photo here is a WILFS job. Trade words are shown in shaded boxes: tap one for a plain-English explanation.

    Art Nouveau cast-iron fireplace with yellow tulip tiles on a black granite hearth
    After
    The same fireplace freshly blast-cleaned to bare metal, in the back of the van
    Blasted
    Victorian cast-iron fireplace with red tulip tiles against a blue wall, on a black granite hearth
    The pair
    No. 01

    Two antique fireplaces, stripped back and set on granite.

    Margate

    1. Years of paint taken off by
    2. Sealed in black and finished with traditional
    3. Openings altered to suit each fireplace
    4. Black granite cut and fitted

    Why they're decorative only: the plan was a gas fire in the larger one, but a showed earlier building work had left the chimney unfit for it. Better to find that out before a fire goes in, not after.

    Before: a small, rough opening in a plastered chimney breast
    Before
    After: a black stove in the opened brick chamber on a York stone hearth
    After
    No. 02

    A blocked-up opening becomes a stove chamber.

    Near Deal

    1. Opening knocked out and a new fitted to suit the brickwork
    2. Old brickwork wire-brushed to show its character
    3. York flagstone laid
    4. Chimney , filled and connected to a Tinderbox stove

    Photographed before the final clean and repointing.

    Cream limestone Tudor-arch fireplace with a matching stone hearth around a black stove
    No. 03

    Italian limestone, with the customer's own stove refitted.

    Chesneys Chiswick Tudor, Bianco Avorio limestone

    1. Opening made bigger to take the fireplace, removing the old angle in the brick
    2. Broken bricks inside restored, repaired and repointed
    3. New support fitted
    4. 904 run up the chimney and insulated with
    5. Matching stone hearth laid and the stove refitted
    A floor-to-ceiling false chimney clad in white split-faced stone with a slim gas fire set into it
    Ornate Victorian cast-iron fireplace fitted against a white wall
    No. 04

    No chimney? A blank wall can still have a fire.

    False chimney, split-faced stone

    1. False chimney built in metal studwork and suitable fibreboard
    2. Studio 2 slimline gas fire fitted, with a black glass lining and log effect
    3. Primed and clad in white split-faced stone as the room's centrepiece

    Right: another cast-iron fireplace fitted by WILFS.

    Black quartz worktops with white veining on a kitchen island and run of cream units

    W is for worktops

    Stone worktops, templated and fitted.

    Granite and quartz, measured to your kitchen and fitted by the WILFS team. These are black quartz tops we templated, supplied and fitted in Ramsgate.

    Ask about worktops

    What we do

    Five letters, five trades.

    1. Worktops

      Granite and quartz worktops, templated, supplied and fitted.Granite · quartz · natural stone supplies

    2. Installations

      Fireplace and stove installations, from opening up the chimney breast to the final hearth.Opening up · lintels · chimney lining · hearths

    3. Landscapes

      Hard and soft landscaping for the garden and the front of the house.Block paving · patios · garden walling · limestone · fencing · decking

    4. Fireplaces

      Antique, cast-iron and marble fireplaces restored and fitted, plus new stone surrounds.Restoration · antique · marble · limestone

    5. Stoves

      Wood-burning stoves fitted into opened-up chambers, with the chimney lined to suit.Wood burners · multi-fuel · chimney liners

    Planning a stove or fireplace?

    Three quick tools before you call.

    How big a stove?

    Measure the room. A common rule of thumb is about 1 kW of heat for every 14 m³ of room.

    –
    A rough guide only. Insulation, windows, open-plan rooms and old houses change it a lot, and the site survey settles it.

    What will the survey check?

    Pick what's there now and see what we'll be looking at when we visit.

      A yearly sweep reminder

      Most guidance says to have a chimney in use swept at least once a year. Pick a date and we'll make a calendar reminder that repeats every year.

      Saves a small calendar file (.ics) that works with iPhone, Android and Outlook calendars. Nothing is sent anywhere.

      Where we work

      Based in Margate, out across Kent.

      Monday to Saturday
      7:30am – 6pm
      Sunday
      Closed
      Right now
      –
      • Thanet
      • Canterbury
      • Whitstable
      • Deal
      • Dover
      • Folkestone
      • Ashford
      • Maidstone
      • Sevenoaks
      • Tunbridge Wells

      Talk to Tony

      The quickest way is a photo and a call.

      07786 270577

      Tony runs the jobs and the phone. Send a text with a photo of your fireplace, wall or kitchen and he'll get back to you to book a free site survey and estimate.

      Tony53463@gmail.com More jobs on Facebook
      What's the job?

      How this works: the buttons open your own Messages or email app with this written out to Tony. Nothing is sent until you press send there, and you can attach your photos first.

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