Can someone help with this fireplace (lots of pictures)

[Bitstreams]

Hello. I'm hoping you lot can make some suggestions on what we could/should do with this fireplace.

View attachment 2

It's the only fireplace we have in the house and it runs off to the right above the ceiling. Some of the bricks are new, some appear to have been cut down, though I don't know how these changes have been made - wouldn't it all fall down if you disturbed these bricks?

There are also some strange protrusions either side which are useful for tea-lights but pretty ugly and a more recent change I think

View attachment 1

Ideally I think I'd like to cover or hide everything above the arch - could I get lime mortar to stick and then blend it in to the wall perhaps?



or any other ideas? We're starting to think about gutting this room (it's the last one we have to do before we start all over again). The jotul, which is brilliant, will be staying.

regards
Simon

 

[robgil]

its hard to say , any chance of a photo of the whole thing?

 

[Bitstreams]

err. thought the top photo was the whole thing - it scrolls on my machine (have I done it wrong)?

 

[Gervase]

Gosh, it's very, er, 'home made', isn't it? Those brick corbels/tea-light holders on each side look as though they were intended to support a mantle of some sort.
No problem with plastering it; just wet it well and use a hairy mix scratched well between coats and it'll be fine. You may want to use some staff beads and brick slips to pad out and straighten the corners for a neat finish, or keep the rustic effect with rounded corners following the admittedly eccentric line of the existing brick.

 

[robgil]

err. thought the top photo was the whole thing - it scrolls on my machine (have I done it wrong)?

sorry my bad , right click on the photo then press 'view image'.

its still hard to say though whats going on there.

 

[Tom]

This doesn't really help with what to do with the fireplace but I'd be very careful using it with all the wood stacked so close. There's a real danger it could burst into flames! :shock:

 

[Merlin]

Hello Simon. It may help to see a little more of the room, as it would give a context / background for the fireplace. Is it a cottage style kitchen / dining room / lounge etc as that may give people some inspiration for ideas.

Whatever people say though - it is up to you whether you like the exposed brick, or prefer it covered. Are we making the assumption that the lining is sound and no intervention works are required on this? If so we are looking at cosmetic renovation rather than rebuilding.....

Merlin

 

[chapel]

Be good to see a picture of the whole room - but on the ones posted it does look a little peculiar. Reminds me a bit of the 'drunken bricklayer' Whitefriars vases. i think the solution probably lay in doing something with the bricks above the arch

Do you know if the bricks a couple of rows above the arch are part of the stack proper, or have they just been built on top cosmetically in a kind of ye olde brick cladding type of way? They look different from everything below. If they have and they're not structural in any way, one option would be to simply remove them down to the arch.

Another option would be plaster over them of course and perhaps try to lessen the recent uneven/homemade edges

 

[Bitstreams]

Thanks for all the replies folks.. here is a picture of the room. It's not a big room but the fireplace is still stuck in the corner.



I've had a closer look at the bricks above the arch and I don't think they could be described as 'cosmetic' - the two courses above the arch look old and then pretty much everything above looks newer, but they do shrink back in to the wall as they get higher;

 

[Moo]

I agree about plastering over it; it does rather dominate the room as it is, doesn't it?

And, about those protruding bricks - might it be simpler to take an angle-grinder to them and simply cut off what you don't need?

 

[robgil]

have you had a look above the register plate? and do you have any idea as to what is behind the plaster on the walls? is it possible that the whole wall was faced in brick at some time?

 

[Bitstreams]

I will be stripping some of the lower plaster when I do the room.. and err, what's a register plate

The wall is mainly stone (as have had the plaster off on the other side)

 

[robgil]

if you look up the chimney there will be a plate that the flue goes through, i was just wondering if there is a larger fire behind this but you should be able to see from the other side of the wall perhaps?
you know the fire place may not be the prettiest but it is quirky and interesting and trying to change it may just make it look worse.

 

[Penners]

I agree about plastering over it

Me too.

 

[Flyfisher]

.. and err, what's a register plate

A register plate is a steel (usually) sheet that blocks off the chimney just above the fireplace opening. It will have a collar for fixing the chimney liner (if fitted) and the stove flue. It may also have a small access panel to allow the chimney to be swept. It is usually fitted far enough above the fireplace opening such that it's not visible from the room.

Edit - just noticed that Robgil already mentioned that.

 

[worms]

you know the fire place may not be the prettiest but it is quirky and interesting and trying to change it may just make it look worse.

And, about those protruding bricks - might it be simpler to take an angle-grinder to them and simply cut off what you don't need?

I think I'd leave it as it is and just get hold of a suitable hunk of wood to lay across the protruding bricks as a shelf.