Unbricking a fireplace

Can anyone offer any advice on this for me?

I have removed a gas fire in our sitting room, to reveal a bricked and plastered over fireplace. It does have a small (18"x10"x10") opening but I'm not sure what that was there for. Maybe the gas fire?

After pulling off the plaster and investigating insisde the fireplace, it looks like the original fireplace (48"x36") was bricked up and the gap behind it filled with loose rubble of some description.

All good so far.

So my plan was to remove the bricks and open it completely out before we decide on a new fireplace. My main concern and question is the lintle (?) that supports the chimney breast. It is old concrete and I worried that when I remove the bricks it won't hold.

This worry is basically because the one exposed surface looks a little flakey. I'm probably being over cautious but thought there would ne no harm in asking the experts.

Is there a way I can test the strength of this piece of concrete before I remove the bricks from underneath it?

FWIW, the house is a mid thirties build and the above measurements are pretty rough. Excuse incorrect terminology ;)

Any opinions welcome.

Thanks, Dan.

Reply to
danw
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Noone can answer his for you. We cannot see the lintel, and if we could we could not in all probability determine whether it is sound.

Given that, I personally, on the info given, would not worry too much. Concrete from the '30's isn't exactly past its sell by date! You say the lintel is flakey: is it cracked all the way through? Can you scrape it away easily? If not it is probably just surface damage. Masonry structures do not automatically collapse if a lintel is removed, probably the most you run the risk of is a triangle of bricks above the lintel collapsing, as the brickwork will then form a rudimentary arch, known as corbelling.

Andy.

Reply to
Andy

I'd be concerned that the "loose rubble" is actually bits of the chimney lining that have collapsed.

Presumably if the lintel is decrepid you'll want to fit a new one anyway so you can still open the fireplace, in which case you could stick in a strongboy before removing the bricks. That way if it starts to collapse you can jack it back up until you're ready to fit a replacement.

Reply to
Rob Morley

Here's mine:

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Frontroom01 Fireplace03, 04 and 11.

The bricks had already fallen out when the back boiler was fitted ages ago then replaced with the white coloured blocks.

Took out the boiler and all the bricks, bricked up the missing row behind the boiler that were hanging in mid air then put in the new lintel and brickwork. :-)

Mark S.

Reply to
Mark S.

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