Renovating a Queenslander: Pressed tin / metal and pot bellied stoves / wood heaters

Pressed tin, also known as pressed metal, has long been used in Queenslanders though it is often found on ceilings. Our Queenslander showed now signs of ever having pressed tin on the ceiling so we went with the simple gyprock ceiling but used pressed tin to make a feature behind the woodheater and kitchen splash back. Pressed tin is making a bit of a comeback as a interior design feature which is great as it comes in a variety of patterns and goes really well with tongue and groove walls!

The pressed tin sheets are made from aluminium (not tin) and they generally come in 1800x900mm sheets for around $150 per sheet and $35 for the border piece. Given that you don't need a tiler to install them, they are actually quite a cost effective product though due care is needed to line up the patterns! Our builder put regulation approved fire-retardant cement sheets behind the pressed tin and the painter put heat tolerant paint on the Savannah sheets that sit behind the fireplace, so it was actually quite easy to install. The best part is that the sheets can be painted the same colour as your walls or trims (we used Dulux Vivid White, the same as the trims) to match the paint scheme and can be repainted if we decide to change the colour scheme in the future!

The installation of the kitchen splash back was a bit more tricky but only because the splash back is 800mm in height under the range, but only 600mm in height under the overhead cupboards, so we had to cut out a section of another pressed tin sheet to fill in the gap. I'd recommend using a single sheet, if possible, as we found that there was a slight variation in the pattern so matching it up to within 1mm precision was quite difficult.

Our pot bellied stove was one of the few original features left in our Queenslander when we found it. Made from cast iron, it ways a tonne, and was peculiarly located in-between the old lounge and dining rooms so one would have to walk around it to go from one room to another. We also found that the flue, while in place, ended in the ceiling cavity and no longer protruded from the roof...just as well we didn't try and light a fire with it! Our original intention was to reuse the pot bellied stove alas, upon inspection by a specialist wood heater expert, we found that it no longer complied with fireplace regulations and that somewhere along it's life it has sustained some serious damage that meant it now would leak quite a bit of smoke.

While heartily disappointed, and then massively alarmed at the cost of getting a replacement to suit the "corner" we had designed for it, we had to settle on one of three options that would meet regulations and fit within the clearance to wall specifications that our 900mm slate tiled base for the wood heater allowed. Did I also mention costly blow to the budget? Particularly as we aren't likely to use the wood heater more than a few times a year...sigh...oh well. We'd already installed the pressed tin and slate tiles so it wasn't really an option to stop and leave it without a stove. Just as well it does look amazing as the feature at the end of the hallway.

Details as follows:

Kitchen splashback pressed tin: Petra design Supplied in 1800x600mm sheets. (Supplier: Restoration Station Brisbane)
Woodheater pressed tin: Savannah design. Supplied in 1800x900mm sheets. (Supplier: Restoration Station). Also used the small border (under/under) pattern for edging which came in 1800mm lengths.
Woodheater: Morso Woodheater (Morso Classic 1440).