Hi, I am doing most of the legwork for fitting an inset gas fire for my parents. They live in a terraced house built in 1910. On removing the existing fire, surround and superimposed hearth I found a badly crumbling constructional hearth underneath. There is a 3' drop to the clay foundations and the constructional hearth is in no state to bear any weight. The house is built on reclaimed land and the foundations are below the water table, hence water can sometimes be found under the floorboards. Also, there appears to be nothing supporting the centre of the back hearth. The floorboards and joists are all dry and in excellent condition. The new granite superimposed hearth is currently resting on the floorboards, and covering the hole where the constructional hearth has sagged. Reading various threads it seems some people have simply removed the constructional hearth (or at least a few inches of it) and fitted floorbaords over the hole, then placed the superimposed hearth on top of the floorboards. Other people have rebuilt the whole of the constructional hearth. What would you recommend? Regards, Steve.
- posted
19 years ago