I am currently cleaning up an old fireplace having removed a grotty old gas heater. The space is about 1.5' X 2'. I am cleaning up the brickwork and intend to repoint using fire cement.
One problem is that the lintel across the top of the fireplace is wooden, about 1" high and just over 1.5' wide. I presume that there is a larger supporting lintel behind the plaster above this and that the wooden piece is holding the bricks between the current space and the larger lintel.
My question is this: can I treat this wooden lintel in some way to make it fireproof, or will I need to replace it? If I need to replace it, how straightforward is this job and what material should I use?
You cant really treat it and I doubt if there is another lintel in place. I suspect that the wooden one is oak and it would be practically impossible with a "normal fire in the grate for it to burn through to structurally weaken it. It may char in the heat but oak has been used for centuries in such situations with no harm under "normal situations. Of course try it with tons of firewood, charcoal and anything else in the grate plus a gallon of petrol you may acheive something but probably the house will go leaving the "oak" beam in situ relatively unharmed.
What are you going to put in there? A "real" fire? BTW, fire cement is really for patching up firebricks of the refractory kind, not ordinary brickwork. Use lime mortar for that.
You need to investigate.
No.
Where is the fireplace? How old is the house? Is there anything in the fireplace, or is it just a box-shaped hole?
Thanks Mike. I think you are right - it is oak. But it is only an inch or so thick, so I wonder if it is really supporting the weight of another 5 feet of chimney breast? That is what makes me think there may be another lintel further up behind the plaster. I think the cavity I am working on may be one that has been built within a previous, much larger fireplace (the house is circa 1870 - a little terrace) to house the gas fire. I'm no expert I hesitate! but any further comments would be most welcome! Cheers, Chris
You haven't explicitly stated this, but from what you say I assume you're going to reinstate a "real fire" in the chimney breast?
If so, I just can't see how this could withstand the heat of the fire without becoming damaged and a serious fire risk, however it's treated.
If it's for a replacement gas fire, talk to your supplier and/or fitter about suitablility - I'd think you'll bump into fairly stringent regs about combustable materials in the fire opening.
However, I'm not sure whether it is original, or whether it can in any way be considered a "lintel" supporting the whole fire opening - oak or not, 1" thick just doesn't sound substantial enough nor the types of beams that would have been used to support such openings. I'd reckon that it was installed in the past when the original opening was reduced in size.
When I opened our chimney breast up (c1900 terrace) the opening was more like 20" wide by 3' high (though I know they are often narrower), and the original opening was supported by an arch of iron - I am given to believe that this is not at all unusual. I think you're going to have to remove the plasterwork above this wooden lintel and see if you find evidence of an original opening that's been reduced in size.
Found this - probably not the same as you'll find, but informative nontheless:
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I think you may have to prop the chimney and install another, non-combustable, lintel.
Thanks for your comments all. Answers to your questions... I am hoping to put a traditional open fire into the fireplace.
It's in the living room. The chimney breast itself is quite large, about 1.5m across, which makes me think there was originally a larger fireplace.
How old is the house? circa 1870s.
Is there anything
It's just a box-shaped hole. I'm going to fit a grate into it, and build a stone surround and hearth.
It looks increasingly like I'm going to have to replace this wooden lintel. Is this a big job, or is it something that I could take on myself? I appreciate that I would need to prop the chimney before i remove the old lintel. What kind of place might supply a new lintel and what material is best?
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