Cornish Granite Inglenook Fireplace Restoration (with pics)

[BlueBeardUk]

We have a little cottage in Cornwall and we started chipping back the horrid 1970s fire to see what was behind ... here's a pic

Inglenook 1

• BlueBeardUk
• 29 Dec 2010
• 4

I should say that before we started any work we had an initial assessment of the flue by a local stove and flue specialist, who assured us that the type of flue was suitable for what we had planned & we will be using a HETAS registered installer to fit the stove once all the clearing and structural work is complete ...

sadly as you will see below, the lintel was broken out when the 1970s fireplace was put in ...

Inglenook 2

• BlueBeardUk
• 29 Dec 2010
• 3

... still not sure how or why it was done in the first place but we have sourced a reclaimed granite lintel ready to take the place of the old one as soon as we have cleared back the depth of the original inglenook ...

It’s been really hard going as it has primarily been filled with concrete blocks laid side on (the little lintel in the last pic even had 6 reinforcement bars within it!) I was hoping it would have just been a brick face ...

So this is where we have got to – the depth of the inglenook is not clear from the photo so I have sketched the side view to hopefully help explain ...

We have now found what we believe to be old granite infill to the left and breeze block continuing to the back wall to the right (as you look at the photo) – the flue has been lined with a filler around an air bladder to leave a pipe and there is a thin metal bar supporting the granite above the lintel ...

Inglenook 3

• BlueBeardUk
• 4 Jan 2011
• 3

So to the question ...

Has anyone done something similar? And is the inglenook likely to be structurally sound if we continue to chip out the concrete infill? All being well there is less than a third to-go ...

My main concern is the structural integrity of what’s above – I’m not sure if the flu is lined all the way up to the chimney but it appears it may be ...

The sooty residue on the inside of the granite appears to keep going behind the infill that remains ...

Whoever did this must have built it with the top remaining structurally sound but having not seen this before I’m not sure how to proceed ...

Anyway here’s some more pics – any advice [other than put it back again ] would be much appreciated

View media item 29697
the plan:

View media item 29702

 

[Richard C]

Thanks for creating your own thread; it’s always best, you will get a far better response & there will be no confusion. However it doesn’t change my post on the other thread;

Are you aware that installing a stove is controlled building work It's notifyable to your LABC for inspection & possible witness test unless you use a HETAS registered installer. Thats in addition to the structural work you appear to be doing on the chmney breast itself. You will need a compliance certificate (issued by one or the other) for the stove if you want to avoid problems when you sell & to avoid the risk of invalidating your property insurance in the event of a problem.

Additionally, how do you know the existinng flue is;
a) suitable for use with solid fuel
b) is sound & fit for further use

 

[BlueBeardUk]

I should say that before we started any work we had an initial assessment of the flue by a local stove and flue specialist, who assured us that the type of flue was suitable for what we had planned & we will be using a HETAS registered installer to fit the stove once all the clearing and structural work is complete ...

Are you aware that installing a stove is controlled building work icon_exclaim.gif It's notifyable to your LABC for inspection & possible witness test unless you use a HETAS registered installer. Thats in addition to the structural work you appear to be doing on the chmney breast itself. You will need a compliance certificate (issued by one or the other) for the stove if you want to avoid problems when you sell & to avoid the risk of invalidating your property insurance in the event of a problem.

Additionally, how do you know the existinng flue is;
a) suitable for use with solid fuel
b) is sound & fit for further use

Cheers Richard - Added a bit to the new topic but should have credited you for pointing it out - Thanks again

 

[Richard C]

My apologies; in my haste I missed your new paragraph as I just assumed it was a cut & paste from the previous thread. My dad always used to tell me, “it's always very dangerous to assume anything” &, as you can see, I still haven’t learned

I will have another, more detailed look & see if I can help.

 

[BlueBeardUk]

Cheers Richard

I am now considering that it may be worth taking out the remaining breeze block at its highest point so that it is only the flue lining left as it should have set and keyed into the inside of the inglenook chimneybreast ...

I’m just worried about the remaining weight and whether or not it will hold if I leave the breezeblocks in place (red rectangle on last drawn diagram) ... if not possibly time to get the professionals in ...

Anyway here’s a pic of the lintel – right dimensions and colour granite to replace the original just a bit long – any tips on breaking one end would also be helpful

The Lintel

• BlueBeardUk
• 4 Jan 2011
• 3

Thanks

 

[Richard C]

I’m sure you will appreciate it’s difficult without being able to see & touch things & those bits of wood are masking the view somewhat, is there an inner brick fire opening in there as well? My opinion from what I can see;
I am assuming the large bits of stone at either side immediately under the steel plate is what remains of the old lintel ends & where the new one is to be installed so those bits of stone have to come out. With small openings, it can be perfectly feasible to replace/install a new lintel without propping (I’ve lintelled new 1200mm windows in gable wall ends without propping). I'm rather concerned, however, that there doesn’t seem to be much on the left hand side holding it all together & what there is looks decidedly dodgy. I’m also concerned what the condition of the structure above the plate is like & weather or not it will be self supporting. So you really need to prop as is looks like most of what you have below the steel plate will have to be rebuilt but I can’t really see from the picture where exactly you could prop unless you use a couple of strong boys either under that steel plate or further up the wall to hold the lot up while you strip it out, install the new lintel & rebuild the brick/stonework either side. I would not advise propping the bit “not sure what this is” (are you now saying its breeze block?) in your sketch as it may collapse & let everything go with it or at least damage the liner. Whatever it is, I would eventually remove it & replace with a custom made register plate, filling the chimney around the liner with Vermiculite. If you’re at all unsure about integrity or how to prop I would get someone in to advise you as it’s so very difficult for me to give an accurate judgement without physically seeing it & having a good poke around to see how sound the overall structure is.

With regard to cutting the lintel don’t try & break it, you could end up with a pile of rockery stones. Hire a diamond disc wheel cutter or a large angle grinder with a stone cutting disc but be very careful, both are vicious bits of kit; a large diamond wheel cutter will remove your foot as soon as look at it if your careless. If you have a stone mason in your area, it may be best to take it along there to be cut to size.

 

[BlueBeardUk]

Thank you for taking the time to reply – I can appreciate there is a certain level of ambiguity when only having photos as a reference ...

We have re-pointed the granite sides and the granite you can see to the left and right go back towards the wall (each around 600mm depth) – The internal brick fire and small back boiler have all but been removed leaving only the granite either side and what block work and infill are left...

The “not sure what’s above this” block has been chipped back to the depth of the lintel removing the front face of breeze blocks to reveal (as you look at the photo) breeze blocks to the left and right with a very white/light flue lining (easy to drill) making up the middle third ... with breezeblocks continuing behind this toward the back wall.

I wonder if a ‘register plate’ can be made to also help support the chimney lining? So that when we remove the last of the breezeblocks the top has a secondary support ...

Thankfully we have a nice diamond disc cutter so we will look at cutting the lintel then chip away at it to recreate a rustic end – I assume a bolster and chisel will do the job ...

Cheers – will look into getting some acro props ...

 

[BlueBeardUk]

Just an update ...

Inglenook 4

• BlueBeardUk
• 14 Jan 2011
• 2

Have taken back the very top breeze block ensemble and can now clearly see how the inglenook is constructed and how the inside was filled – all very stable ...

Happy to crack on now ... will hopefully get the rest of the infill out this week
Should probably try and move this to the “Your Projects” section

 

[BlueBeardUk]

Eureka!

Inglenook 5

• BlueBeardUk
• 16 Jan 2011
• 2

Finally found the sooty back wall !!! – the pic’s don’t do it justice ... the internal dimensions are roughly 1.1m deep (behind the lintel to the wall) x 1.2 m wide (inside -between the sides)

The inglenooks tapering top is now clearly visible and the structure is sound ... just a little bit to go to get it to floor level, then back off to the local reclamation yard to find a nice bit of slate for the hearth ...

... still a bit to go ... cut and place the lintel, get rid of blockwall outside to the right – but finally making headway!

 

[BlueBeardUk]

Cheers for the help ... topic has now been moved to "Your Projects"

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