Fireplace builds & renovationin Huntingdon, St Neots and across Cambridgeshire
New fireplace builds, opening up blocked chimney breasts, and renovating existing openings, with proper lintels, hearths and brick or stone surrounds.
£2 million insured. 6-month workmanship guarantee. Answered 24 hours.
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10 years in the trade
Jack on site daily
£2 million insured
Public & employers' liability
Phone open 24 hours
6-month workmanship guarantee
Recent fireplace builds & renovation work
The service
Fireplaces built into the fabric of the room
- Homeowners wanting a bespoke fireplace built into a new or existing room
- Anyone with a blocked or boarded-up chimney breast they want opened up
- Existing fireplace openings that need enlarging, repairing or re-lining structurally
- New builds and self-builds specifying a feature fireplace as part of the design
- Renovation projects where a fireplace is being reinstated as a room's focal point
- Anyone wanting a brick or stone surround built to match the rest of the room or house
A fireplace is a structural feature as much as a decorative one. Opening one up, or building one from scratch, means dealing with the chimney breast, the lintel that carries the wall above the opening, the hearth underneath, and the surround that finishes the room. Get any one of those wrong and you've either got an opening that isn't structurally sound or a fireplace that looks bolted on rather than built in. Jack Prime has spent ten years building and renovating this kind of work, taught by his dad Martin, who still works alongside him.
Prime Build Services builds fireplaces to the room they're going into, in brick or stone, and takes on the structural side of opening up chimney breasts that have been boarded over or bricked up by a previous owner. We also renovate existing fireplace openings that have been damaged, are the wrong size for what's wanted, or simply need bringing back into use.
One example of the scale we work at: a state of the art fireplace built as part of a grand-design self-build home in Hemingford Grey, alongside boundary walling for the same property. Whether it's a full new build feature or a single opening in an existing lounge, the structural work and the finish are treated with the same level of attention.
We work across St Neots, Huntingdon, St Ives, Godmanchester, Cambourne, Cambridge, Sandy and Hemingford Grey, and county-wide through Cambridgeshire, plus parts of Bedfordshire, Suffolk and Northamptonshire.
What it costs to leave it
Where fireplace projects go wrong
The most common structural mistake on a fireplace opening is a lintel that's undersized or missing altogether. The lintel carries the wall and chimney breast above the opening, and it needs to be specified for the span and load involved, sitting on adequate bearing at each end. An opening enlarged without checking or replacing the lintel is a genuine structural risk, not just a cosmetic shortcut.
Hearths are frequently an afterthought, added on top of an existing floor without checking what's underneath or how the hearth needs to be built up and finished at the edges. A hearth that isn't level, or that's the wrong thickness for the fire type being installed, causes problems that are awkward to correct once the surround is finished around it.
Opening up a chimney breast that's been blocked for years means checking what's actually inside it before doing anything else. Old flues can have debris, damaged brickwork, or in some cases have been altered by previous work in ways that aren't obvious from the room side. We assess this properly before committing to a full opening-up.
On the finishing side, a common issue is a surround that doesn't relate to the opening or the room - proportions that are too heavy or too light for the space, or brick and stone that doesn't sit with the rest of the house. We treat the surround as part of the room's design, not a standalone product bolted onto a hole in the wall.
Mistakes we get called out to fix
- Undersized or missing lintel over an opening, risking the structure above it
- Hearths built without checking floor build-up or fire type requirements
- Chimney breasts opened up without first checking the condition of the flue behind
- Surrounds built out of proportion to the opening or the room
- Brick or stone surrounds that don't match the rest of the house
- Existing openings enlarged without reassessing the lintel for the new span
How the job runs
A set order of work,
start to finish
Step 1
Site visit and assessment
Jack looks at the room, the existing chimney breast or opening, and discusses the style and scale of fireplace you want.
Step 2
Structural check
For opening-up work, the chimney breast and existing lintel (if any) are assessed before any work is agreed, so the structural side is understood upfront.
Step 3
Design and material choice
Brick or stone surround, hearth material and proportions are agreed to suit the room and the style you're after.
Step 4
Pricing and agreement
A clear price is given for the full job, structural and finishing work included, before anything starts.
Step 5
Opening up and structural work
Where a breast is being opened, this is done with the correct lintel installed and bearing checked, and the flue assessed as work progresses.
Step 6
Hearth and surround build
The hearth is built level and to the correct thickness, and the brick or stone surround is built and finished to match the room.
What you get
What the work gives you
once we're off site
Structural and decorative in one job
We handle the lintel, opening and hearth as well as the finished brick or stone surround, so the whole fireplace is built as one piece of work.
Grand-design experience
A feature fireplace built as part of a full self-build home in Hemingford Grey shows the scale and finish we work to on larger projects.
Ten years' trade experience
Jack has worked this trade for a decade, taught by his dad Martin, who still works alongside him day to day on site.
Brick and stone matched to your house
Surrounds are built in brick or stone chosen to sit with the rest of the room and, where relevant, the rest of the house.
£2 million insurance cover
All fireplace and chimney breast work is carried out under £2 million public and employers' liability insurance.
6-month workmanship guarantee
Completed fireplace work is covered by a 6-month guarantee against defects.
In detail
What a fireplace build or renovation involves
This work covers the structural opening, the hearth and the finished surround. We do not carry out gas work, HETAS registration or stove commissioning - we build the fireplace structure and finish, and any gas or stove installation is arranged separately with a qualified installer.
Opening up a blocked chimney breast
Chimney breasts that have been bricked up or boarded over need the blockage removed, the flue checked for condition and debris, and the opening formed with a correctly sized lintel before the surround goes on.
Lintels
The lintel carries the wall above the fireplace opening. It has to be sized for the span and the load above it, with adequate bearing at each end into sound brickwork - not just resting on whatever's easiest.
Hearths
A hearth needs to be built level, at the correct thickness and finished at the edges to suit the fire type going in. We build hearths correctly from the floor build-up upward, not as a slab dropped on top of existing flooring.
Brick surrounds
Brick surrounds are built to match the room and, where relevant, the house's existing brick. Proportions - width, height, depth of reveal - are set out to suit the opening rather than a standard off-the-shelf size.
Stone surrounds
Stone surrounds, including natural stone slips, give a heavier, more traditional finish. We fit stone surrounds to prepared substrates with attention to joint consistency and finish quality across the whole surround.
Renovating existing openings
Older fireplace openings often need repair to cracked or damaged brickwork, re-forming of the opening if it's been altered badly in the past, or a full new surround built onto a structurally sound but cosmetically tired opening.
Enlarging an opening
If an opening is being made bigger, the existing lintel needs reassessing for the new span - it's rarely safe to assume the original lintel will cope with a wider opening.
Flue checks
Before finishing any opening-up work, we check the visible condition of the flue behind the opening so any issues are known about before the surround goes on and covers the area.
Where our work ends
We build the structural opening, hearth and surround. Gas connections, HETAS registration and stove commissioning are not part of what we do, and any fire or stove installation itself is carried out separately by a qualified installer.
Common questions
Fireplace builds & renovation:
straight answers
Can you open up a chimney breast that's been blocked up?
Yes, this is regular work for us. We check the condition of the flue and existing structure before opening it up, and install a correctly sized lintel as part of the job.
Do you install the wood burner or gas fire itself?
No. We build the structural opening, hearth and surround. Gas connections, HETAS registration and stove commissioning are handled separately by a qualified installer.
Can you build a fireplace surround to match my existing brickwork?
Yes, we match brick or stone surrounds to the room and, where relevant, to the rest of the house's existing brickwork.
What's involved in checking whether an opening can be enlarged?
The existing lintel needs assessing for the new, wider span before any opening-up work starts, since a lintel sized for a smaller opening usually isn't adequate for a larger one.
Have you built fireplaces as part of a new build?
Yes, including a feature fireplace built as part of a full grand-design self-build home in Hemingford Grey, alongside the property's boundary walling.
Can an existing hearth be replaced without redoing the whole fireplace?
In some cases, yes, depending on the condition of the surround and opening. Jack will assess this on a site visit.
Do you work in stone as well as brick for surrounds?
Yes, including natural stone slip surrounds as well as full brick surrounds.
How long does a fireplace opening-up job take?
This depends on the condition of the existing chimney breast and flue, and the scope of the finish work. Jack will give a realistic timeframe once he's seen the job.
What areas do you cover for fireplace work?
St Neots, Huntingdon, St Ives, Godmanchester, Cambourne, Cambridge, Sandy, Hemingford Grey and Cambridgeshire county-wide, plus parts of Bedfordshire, Suffolk and Northamptonshire.
Is fireplace work covered by your guarantee?
Yes, all fireplace building and renovation work carries our 6-month workmanship guarantee, and is carried out under £2 million public and employers' liability insurance.
Related work
Often booked alongside
Where we work
Fireplace builds & renovation across Cambridgeshire
- St Neots
- Huntingdon
- St Ives
- Godmanchester
- Cambourne
- Cambridge
- Sandy
- Hemingford Grey
- Cambridgeshire
- Bedfordshire
- Suffolk
- Northamptonshire
Based at 11a St Mary's Street, St Neots. See the full list of areas we cover.
Next step
Get your fireplace project looked at
Call Jack on 07482 244276, answered 24 hours, or send details of your fireplace or chimney breast and he'll arrange a visit to assess it.
Open 24 hours, 7 days a week · £2 million insured · 6-month workmanship guarantee