Victorian fireplace reinstatement

[Murmansk]

A friend of mine's bought a flat in the top floor of a massive Victorian ho use.

The old fireplaces have been removed and filled in, with just a vent left w here the fireplace used to be on the chimney breast.

She's bought an old Victorian fireplace that looks to me to be about the si ze of the one that would have been there and I have agreed to have a go at putting it back - not so it can be used but just for decorative purposes.

I reckon it won't be too hard if I start by stripping back some of the plas ter until I get to the point where I can see the edge of the newer bricks t hat have been used to fill in the old fireplace. I can then remove them wit h my SDS drill fitted with a chisel and set to "road drill" mode.

Anyone got any thoughts on the practicalities of doing this and any tips?

[Jim K]

where the fireplace used to be on the chimney breast.

size of the one that would have been there and I have agreed to have a go a t putting it back - not so it can be used but just for decorative purposes.

aster until I get to the point where I can see the edge of the newer bricks that have been used to fill in the old fireplace. I can then remove them w ith my SDS drill fitted with a chisel and set to "road drill" mode.

aye aye, wink wink etc etc

..is it really bricked up? or just pboarded over with vent?

how will she stop the assorted sh1te coming down and heat going up?

Jim K

[Murmansk]

how will she stop the assorted sh1te coming down and heat going up?

[harryagain]

The old fireplaces have been removed and filled in, with just a vent left where the fireplace used to be on the chimney breast.

She's bought an old Victorian fireplace that looks to me to be about the size of the one that would have been there and I have agreed to have a go at putting it back - not so it can be used but just for decorative purposes.

I reckon it won't be too hard if I start by stripping back some of the plaster until I get to the point where I can see the edge of the newer bricks that have been used to fill in the old fireplace. I can then remove them with my SDS drill fitted with a chisel and set to "road drill" mode.

Anyone got any thoughts on the practicalities of doing this and any tips?

********************************************************** Well if you put it in, it will have to be usable because you can bet someone will try to light a fire at some point.. If it's not right, someone could be killed, has happened in the past.

It is harder than you think and the chimney will need to be checked out and may well need work. Also depends on whether the fire has a cast iron back to it or not and if she has got it. Also depends on how much brickwork was removed when the original fireplace was removed.

[stuart noble]

Go for it. It'll be a focal point, even without the fire. Dried flowers and shit. Awesome

[Tim Streater]

You can buy chimney balloons that you shove up the chimney and pump up. They are quite robust and seal it nicely.

I'd have thought that if the idea is to never have a fire in it, the chimney should be visibly sealed at the top of the fireplace opening, so that it's clear that the whole thing is just decoration.

[alan]

There is a bloody good reason why most people rip them out.

When an estate agent says "period feature" it just means that you have to hire a bigger skip.

[Hugo Nebula]

Let the neighbours know what you're doing. Otherwise, if you start drilling and knocking, they'll all be straight onto the Council, each to different bits of it, and you'll have a dozen different departments investigating everything from your demolition of the building to you moving in illegal immigrants.

[Hugo Nebula]

No-one's yet mentioned ventilation. There's a reason the vent has been placed in the walling up - to stop condensation. If you install a fireplace, install a vent; either in the back of the fire or further up the flue.

[Andrew Gabriel]

Sorry, but you have to leave it vented at the bottom (and top). If you block it, it will first fill with condensation and then that will start leaking through the walls, damaging the decoration, and causing the plaster to come away. It will also cause the exposed part of the stack to deteriorate faster as it soaks into the bricks and mortar and freezes in cold weather.

If the chimney is on an outside wall, you can instead vent the flue to the outside with an airbrick in the flue neck, and block off from the room below this point.

[stuart noble]

AIUI you can either block both ends or ventilate both ends, but a mixture of the two isn't ideal.

[Dave Plowman (News)]

Yes. Total lack of taste.

[Dave Plowman (News)]

Place a short length of PVC pipe alongside the bag or balloon to provide ventilation.

[Dave Plowman (News)]

Are you certain it has been filled in with bricks? A bit of plasterboard would be more usual. Tap it to see.

[charles]

more likely asbestos cement.

[Nick Odell]

May I just ask...?

I've got a working fireplace with a chimney liner in situ (can't tell you much more about that: it was installed before I bought the house but I can see part of the corrugated metal tube if I look up it) I plan to use the open fire in the future but for the moment I've just stuffed it above the fireplace with newspaper. I'm assuming that, being a metal liner, it won't succumb to damp - am I wrong? Should I take other precautions?

Thanks,

Nick

[stuart noble]

Hopefully the area round the flue liner will be packed with vermiculite, so condensation shouldn't be an issue. You might consider a chimney cowl if there are problems with rain coming down the chimney or smoke getting blown back

[dennis]

Check it isn't just a gas flu liner as quite a lot of those were fitted and they are not suitable for an open fire (or so i am told).

If its just a bit of corrugated steel that moves about its probably no good.

[Nick Odell]

Ta for your reply, and for Stuart's. It had obviously been used on an occasional basis as an open fire before I moved in but equally obviously the ironmongery installation is a botched job. I planned to do it properly in the Spring but now I will check out that liner properly first. In the meantime, I presume I can assume at the very least the liner will keep out the damp.

Nick

[harryagain]

There are several possible ways of constructing a chimney. Often chimneys deteriorate and putting in a liner is a way of getting round problems of flue gas leakage etc. caused by this deterioration. Unlined brick built stacks are assumed to be potenially dangerous due to their age so a liner is always fitted if a new fireplace/stove is fitted. There are lots of different sorts and some are pretty dodgy/ineffective. as is the way some are fitted.