Another Fireplace Opening Thread

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After looking at my fireplace a while back and begining to open it up a bit, I found when taking more plaster away that the single engineering type bricks at each side, have every other brick mounted into the wall behind, so knowing this, does that mean the little arch thats there should support anything above if I were to remove the concrete cast lintel and everything below?


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Would it be reasonable to take a large disk angle grinder and cust a slot in directly under the arch and hammer in a metal L lintel like this one to be sure?

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The steel angle iron would work for a lintel - but, before opening anything up, you want to be clear what dimensions you are working to for what purpose eg. Mfr's dims for a wood burner?
Much of the in-fill brickwork is remedial brickwork - so you will have to be well careful or get a brickie in. A brickie could also build you a centred curved arch similar to the one thats in there now.

If you remove all the c/breast face plaster and up the cheeks for about 500mm it will help.

If you then clear all the rubble away and remove all c/breast skirting then take fresh pics showing the c/breast face & cheeks it would help.

Your outside corners are rounded so you will probably need to use angle bead when you re-render the c/breast.
The flue will need sweeping.
 
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The sides look a little thin, single skin of brick? Originally would the sides have been thick enough (1 and 1/2 bricks) to sit under the last of the curved bricks?
 
The sides look a little thin, single skin of brick? Originally would the sides have been thick enough (1 and 1/2 bricks) to sit under the last of the curved bricks?
The jambs are too thin. I would increase them to 9 or 13 inch brickwork and stick a lintel across.
It depends what the opening needs to be used for.
 
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Have you got a steel bar directly under your brick arch? I did on mine which also offers support to the arch. Maybe remove a little bit of mortar directly under the arch to see if it's there.
 
I'd take off the plaster right to the ceiling, as the chimney seems to have been messed around with quite a lot. Although the sides are only 1 brick wide, they don't go back very far, so should support a curved arch quite happily. I'd carefully take out the top arch, put in a curved former and build a new arch, then replace and repoint any dropped bricks. If you then leave it or a few days for the cement to go off, then you can carefully take out the bricks and the lintel below. In your case, the liner will need sweeping, and you'll need a closure plate to seal the chimney. Obviously this should be done under a building control notice.
 
He does for installing the wood burner which is what I was referring to, but not the chimney work.
 
I assumed nothing - I referred to a woodburner merely & obviously as an example (eg.) for referencing dimensions.
 

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