Building regs - apply to plastering of fireplace?

[inwood]

I've been working on my inglenook fireplace and had a couple of questions. The 'inglenook' is about 1 metre by 3 metres. Within this a brick chimney has been built leading to a vaulted brick ceiling at the level of the main beam over the fireplace. The flue then continues at 1mx3m above this to the pots at the top.

The back wall inside this inner fireplace was rendered very badly (looks like a ten year old had done it) in a cement render, trapping the moisture in the stone and bricks of the inner chimney. I've now removed this to be left with a part stone, concrete block, brick and anything else that came to the bodgers hand when he rebuilt this section. It's now thankfully drying out very quickly but I'm still left with a hideous wall at the rear of the fireplace.

I'm loath to rebuild this as the outer skin of this area (gable end) had a big hole punched into it by a digger (demolition of attached building by developers next door - don't ask!) and I don't want to put further stress on this area by removing a section and rebuilding.

So I'm proposing to re-render the inside of the fireplace with a lime render.

Does anyone know if there are any building regs governing the materials that can be used within the fireplace - it was previously rendered at some point in lime as there are remains of this.

And as an aside - why is it called an inglenook? The name conjures up a small cosy affair - something at odds with the hulking great thing (in a nice way!) that's in place now.

Photos can be provided if required.

 

[Penners]

The Gaelic word aingeal means fire. An inglenook is a corner beside the fire. The original idea of such large fireplaces was that those most needing of warmth could actually sit inside the fireplace.

The estate agent word inglenook means any fireplace slightly larger than a normal little modern thing, and which you might get away with suggesting is a "period feature".

Are you sure that rebuilding that section of the chimney is out of the question? Provided the brickwork above is properly supported, I can't imagine that taking out the bodged-up section and rebuilding it would place excessive stress on the structure. And I can't help feeling that you would be more satisfied with this solution.

 

[Nemesis]

Hulking great things were the place where all the cooking took place - a cooking hearth.

 

[stickybeak]

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[Nemesis]

Strangely. the term inglenook is not mentioned by Dorothy Hartley, which leads one to consider it is a relatively new use for all large fire openings - estate agentese indeed.

There is the Scottish term (ingleneuk). Ingle , my dictionary tells me, is a dialect term for a fire in a room or a fireplace, prob, as David has said, C16th Scottish Gaelic aingeal fire). Inglenook: a corner by a fireplace; chimney corner.


http://www.blurtit.com/q414545.html

Also:
in·gle·nook(nggl-nk)
n.
1. A nook or corner beside an open fireplace.
2. A bench, especially either of two facing benches, placed in a nook or corner beside a fireplace



Many supposed inglenooks are in fact cooking hearths (with regional variations of terminology) or indeed the opening where the range may have been, depends upon the age or the building.

Possibly the grandest - and in many ways most bizarre - of these are at Cragside, the fantastic (as in the fantasy sense...) home of Lord Armstrong (Rothbury, Northumberland).

From the listing description:

Dining Room has deeply-coffered moulded ceiling and high embattled dado with carved frieze; inglenook fireplace under semicircular arch, the fireplace, arch and frieze above all carved.

Drawing Room: Huge inglenook fireplace and chimneypiece by W.R. Lethaby, in Italian marbles, carved throughout with Renaissance motifs and reaching to top of barreled roof.

There is a painting dated about 1870 by HH Emmerson portraying Armstrong snugly reading a newspaper in his 'cosy corner' in the dining room. In this case the 'light' comes from a splendid internal stained window.

Pics 5 and 7 here:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/tyne/content/image_galleries/northumbria_icons_cragside_gallery.shtml?5

The dining room 'inglenook' seat can be glimpsed at the right of the picture. The drawing room one can be seen in full splendour.

In fact Armstrong probably didn't need to keep warm by sitting inside his inglenook - the heating system is spectacular

http://www.hevac-heritage.org/items_of_interest/heating/national_trust_properties/cragside/cragside.htm

But I digress.


I can't think that there are any building regs to prevent rendering with a lime mortar, if you want to cover up the mess and as you say not disturb the fabric of the building. However, if you are using this as an open fire then I'd be inclined to additionally use a metal fireback. Obviously if listed you need to talk to the CO but it may not be considered that LBC is required.

One of our large fire openings we rendered in lime as it was such a mess, once the cement was removed, but it has a stove in not an open fire.

Photos would be great - simply out of interest!