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Removing fireplace... Advice

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 wushu 21 Jul 2014
Hello,

We've recently moved into our new house and after removing wallpaper in the living room realised that the old fire was blocked up. We removed the wood blocking it and discovered the old fire back. Our intention is to remove this fire back and have an open fire area, but not use it as a fire.

My question is, can I simply remove the brick and fire back as shown in the red box in the photo below? I'm assuming this section is not load bearing?

http://postimg.org/image/4zwgc110p/

Any help is appreciated!

 Jacob Ram 21 Jul 2014
In reply to wushu:

Should be OK , be prepared for extreme dust.

 gav 21 Jul 2014
In reply to wushu:

I've done similar on a couple of fireplaces in my house. If you knock back a few more inches of plaster, you should be able to find a lintel or arch which is what hopefully is supporting the chimney breast. Once you're happy that that's there and the fireback isn't structural (it's not going to be), then just take it out piece by piece.
OP wushu 21 Jul 2014
In reply to Jacob Ram and gav:


Thanks guys! Luckily there is nothing in the house at the moment, since we're renovating so it seems like now is the time to do it. Thanks again for the info!
 PaulTanton 21 Jul 2014
In reply to wushu:

I had a similar thing in my lounge. Took the false lintel out to reveal a great fireplace. I think they used to put all the crap bricks in just to fill up the void.
I had the proper/original brickwork cleaned up and re-pointed. Looks the business now with a wood burner in.

Well worth doing
OP wushu 21 Jul 2014
In reply to all:

So it went well, but as you all warned it's a very messy job!

Here's the final outcome:

http://postimg.org/image/mt3pbuv4l/
 gav 22 Jul 2014
In reply to wushu:

Just the tidy-up to go now

I've done 3 now: first one I boarded out and put a wood burner in, second one I left bare like that, and the most recent I put a cast-iron fireplace surround in without the fireback:

http://gavinwillingham.com/photos/fireplace.jpg
 Ridge 22 Jul 2014
In reply to wushu:

Nice job. I removed a knackered lpg fire when we bought this house:

http://instagram.com/p/qw-9UqQfgs/

Which went well until I found out it was a erm.. structural knackered lpg fire :

http://instagram.com/p/qw_FS2Qfgy/

Thank god for a bit of 3x3 and a car jack. Turned out ok in the end though:

http://instagram.com/p/qw_TTtQfhT/
 sarahjk 24 Jul 2014
In reply to wushu:

What are you guys using to seal round the fireplace ?

I did similar and put a small round woodburner in the gap. Plastered it with ordinary plaster which is now all cracked and would fall off if I touched it. Need to figure out what to do and get it done this summer. The hole is pretty small and there isnt much space between wall and stove which mostly protrudes. Is there a special wet plaster ? Someone said you can get fire board to put in.

Thanks

Sarah
andreas 24 Jul 2014
In reply to sarahjk:
Hi Sarah, i recently installed a log burner. I restored the original brickwork at the back of the chimney and plastered the rest. I looked for heat proof plaster before carrying out the work but couldn't find any. Unfortunately the log burner is far too big for the space (someone gave me it) and the plaster has cracked. How much space do you have around the burner? Mine is supposed to have 15 inches clearence, i've got 4... I'm planning on replacing the existing burner with a smaller one at some point which i think will solve the problem.

I can think of two solutions for you, strip all the plaster off the chimney, sand, point and varnish the brick work. If you don't like brickwork look you can board it with cement board and paint it. Unfortunately it has quite a rough finish so won't give a plastered finish. You can't use plasterboard as it's rated as a combustable however there is a heat resistant plasterboard. I asked the chap at Wicks if it was combustable or not, he looked at my blankly, asked all the other staff then came back and told me he didn't know... This was just for my closure plate so i bought sheet steel instead. If it is a non combustable a decent builder can make it look plastered without plastering. Good luck!
Post edited at 08:10
 Jacob Ram 24 Jul 2014
In reply to wushu:

You can get a high temperature cement from good builders merchants . Use it to make a render, I used it to line a fire place and it was great.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Everbuild-Heatproof-Screed-Resistant-Temperature/dp...
andreas 24 Jul 2014
In reply to Jacob Ram:

Voila!
Rigid Raider 24 Jul 2014
In reply to wushu:
That' a nicely proportioned fireplace that's just crying out for a multi fuel stove. If you're lucky the flue will,be in good condition and won't need lining. Get advice from a chimney sweep and make him your friend; he will have less interest in selling you an overpriced flue liner and more interest in getting you properly set up with a decent stove and a flue that can be swept easily so as to assure himself of trouble-free repeat business.

If you're lucky enough to live in Lancashire, Ian at Acorn chimneys in Burnley is excellent.

A stove is a wonderful addition to any house as it warms as well as ventilating the building very effectively.
Post edited at 09:27
 Toby_W 24 Jul 2014
In reply to gav:

Gav, that looks amazing, I'm about to do the same in our bedroom. Can I ask how you fix the cast iron bit into/onto the wall? I haven't really looked at the back of it yet do they have hangers for screws or something?

Cheers

Toby
 gav 24 Jul 2014
In reply to Toby_W:

That particular one has some lugs on the sides (with screw holes), so I screwed it to the wall. When I plastered round it, I covered up the lugs so you can't see them. There are also some points on the bottom, which I sunk into the concrete so the bottom can't slide out.

Here's a picture of another one I've not fitted yet:

http://www.gavinwillingham.com/photos/secondfireplace.jpg

You can see the screw-hole lugs, but there's also a loop a bit further down. AIUI, in theory you're supposed to thread a cable through here and attach it to the back of the chimney cavity. YMMV, but this seemed overkill to me, especially as the fireplace is only decorative so I didn't bother.
 gav 24 Jul 2014
In reply to sarahjk:

I used Glasroc multiboard to board out the firelace cavity where we have our stove on the recommendation of the stove shop and fitter.

http://www.british-gypsum.com/products/glasroc-f-multiboard

Technically, it's not rated to temperatures above ~50c but 3 years on and it's been fine (and the shop uses it regularly).

The VITCAS stuff linked above is probably the "proper" way to do it, but might be hard to plaster behind the stove?

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