Hi folks
I'm in the process of opening up my Victorian chimney breast to install my wood burner . Having taken off the plaster I have revealed a brick arch above the infill . Had a feeling this may be there . What I want to know is will it be safe to knock out the infil?l ,
The arch does have a steel rod 2 inch wide underneath it
Kind regards Weavy
Yes it's safe to knock out the infil - the steel bar was there for the bricklayer to build his arch on, they never bothered taking them out even though they could have once the arch had set. If it's going to be on show, it'll need a good wire brushing and a coat of high temperature paint, also, expect soot falls unless you intend putting a 'ceiling' above the wood burner - I used 'hardibacker' - a cement based,
15mm board available from b&q about 4X4 IIRC, still got half of it lying around. Don't use plasterboard as it won't last a fortnight - not even the fireproof stuff.On Sunday 10 February 2013 20:10 Phil L wrote in uk.d-i-y:
+1.My fireplace "arch" is nearly horizontal and had no iron underneath. I added a bit of 2" x 1/4" bar gently curved by standing on it across a couple of bricks. It is let into the bricks about 2" either end.
It did not absolutely need it - but some of the mortar between the bricks in the arch looked a bit dodgey.
It should be, the arch is there to take the weight of the stack and transfer it into the ground via the sides of the opening. Assuming the brickwork/mortar etc of the arch is sound the infill below it can be removed.
As has been said support for the bricky to build the arch on. It shouldn't be doing anything significant to support the arch now.
In message , weavy writes
I have done two here. Both having been reduced to an 18" opening with the fireback gap filled with rubble.
In my case there is a steel strip following the shape of the arch and supporting a row of *soldier* half bricks. The strip goes through the brick columns and is split with each half turned back against the brickwork.
Above the arch and inside the chimney, the brickwork is *corbelled* (narrowed in layers) to form the actual flue.
It could be doing a useful function..
arches tend to push outwards and need something to push against. the iron bar could be there to keep the arch from spreading if there is not enough wall either side to resist the forces.
If the opening is in the middle of a wall the bar is probably doing nothing. If the opening only has a couple of bricks either side it probably is doing something.
Unless the ends of that bit of strip are really unable to move outwards it's going to be next to useless should the arch start to collapse. In fact it may make things worse by pushing the tops of the side walls outwards.
You bent it by simply standing on it, how heavy is the triangle of stack above the arch?
On Sunday 10 February 2013 20:54 Dave Liquorice wrote in uk.d-i-y:
They are unable to move outwards and there's a foot thick of solid masonry either side of the opening.
Don't forget that it's basically only supporting the triangle of brickwork over the opening - this iron's job is merely to stop the odd brick dropping out.
single brick leaf at the front of the
Probably a lot less than me! And 1/4" bends easily when the ends are free :)
Are you sure the rod isn't there to take the spreading load from the arch? An arch exerts an outward push on the brickwork each side.
Also, if you are reopening a chimney you'll need to have building control approve it anyway. They'll give advice on the steel rod as part of that.
Robert
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