Opening up a fireplace

[MadAlicesDad]

The house is late Victorian. As can be seen by the size of the spirit level in the photo, the original fireplace opening is about 4 ft high and would originally have had a cooking range in it. Over the years there have been several different fires and the fireplace has been modified several times, each fire blocking up a bit more of the original opening.
I want to open the fireplace up to the original size, roughly where the yellow lines are. There is a substantial amount of brickwork that appears non original or non-structural but before I start hacking, I wonder if anybody has experience of such things. I am getting a professional in to give a quote, but that is in two weeks and I want to do as much as I can beforehand (albeit safely and without wrecking the house!)

The fireplace before

• MadAlicesDad
• 24 Nov 2008
• 1

It seems as if the original open fireplace has been adapted by building a sort of ‘venturi’ as shown roughly by the red lines. On the righthand side there is very rough brickwork supporting it but on the left it is unsupported (hence the wooden chocks - what few bricks were under it were loose). I am guessing that the majority of brickwork on the left was removed to make space for the back boiler. None of the bricks match the rest of the house and the job is very poorly done. I am assuming that these and the ‘venturi’ were a later addition, are not structural and hence can be removed. Has anybody found similar modifications in the past, and can they be removed safely?

Before anyone says it, assuming the opening can be restored, I will be putting a new lintel in under the original brick ‘arch’!
TIA
Mike

 

[gday2uk]

Without being able to look in the hole and feel around I would say you would be safe to remove anything directly below the original arch (as long as the arch is sound) as this was the original lintel.
The wooden support looks as though it is only holding up the lump of bricks above it - nothing else.
Even if some of the arch fell you would only loose a few bricks from above and if you are putting a new lintel in anyway it could be patched after.

 

[MadAlicesDad]

That's what I was thinking, but thought I'd ask in case I'd overlooked something.
BTW I put the wood in as there was nothing supporting the bricks apart from some loosely stacked bricks which could be removed without tools! It may have been like that for 20+ years but had I known I would have chocked it sooner.
Cheers,
Mike

 

[neds]

The cheeks look sound, Repointing the old mortar wont do any harm either. Stick a new lintel above the arch Is what I'd do then brick up the rest.

 

[MadAlicesDad]

Is there a reason for putting the lintel above the arch? I was planning on putting it below, on the basis that the arch will support the wall above while I do it. I'll lose a bit of the opening height, but that should be ok.
As I want to fit a wood burner I don't want to brick up the opening, or have I missed your point?
Cheers,
Mike

 

[agbagb]

We have a similar opening in our house, we found an iron band under the arch when we opened it up. If the arch is sound you shouldn't need a lintel. We made a feature of the arch, and last year finally got the wood burner in.

Untitled

• agbagb
• 26 Nov 2008
• 1

I'm sure you'll be looking the right linner spec for solid fuel, ventilation, BC notification etc.

It's a great project that makes a fantastic differance to heat of home. We love ours, so does the dog

Untitled

• agbagb
• 26 Nov 2008
• 1

Hope you get it all sorted
Andy

 

[Lower]

You shouldn't need a lintel. When the builders originally built the house the arch would have provided all the support the brickwork above it required. The brickwork below it has been added later to reduce the size of the standard builders opening for the relevant fire that was fitted at the time. You can remove it with no worries at all.

We did something similar a couple of years ago.

Is there a reason for putting the lintel above the arch? I was planning on putting it below, on the basis that the arch will support the wall above while I do it. I'll lose a bit of the opening height, but that should be ok.
As I want to fit a wood burner I don't want to brick up the opening, or have I missed your point?
Cheers,
Mike

 

[MadAlicesDad]

Thanks for the reassurance that it can be done!
I want to put in a lintel because there is no guarantee of the strength of the brick arch and the walls that bear the sideway load of the arch are in poor condition. Now's the best time to do it rather than plaster and decorate then find it cracks! Also it gives a straight edge to work to (I'm not that keen on it as an arch)
Mike

 

[MadAlicesDad]

Job done, thanks for all the suggestions and comments. The brick arch was very loose and there is a crack running up through the middle of the chimney breast so I'm glad I put a lintel in. A few scary moments and rockfalls removing several unsupported brick courses inside the original chimney, but I can now see what it used to be like.
A bit more pointing and it will be ready for another 100 years.

the fireplace during

• MadAlicesDad
• 30 Nov 2008
• 1

]

Cheers,
Mike [/img]