Fireplace Suggestions

[Merlin]

Hello

This is my first post on the forum, but I have been lurking and have spent a long time looking back over previous discussions.

As you are all fans of photos, I have posted some pictures of the fireplace we have "discovered" behind the hardboard in our front bedroom:

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Mrs Merlin would like the fire to be stripped and grate polished and I would like to find a replacement grate, but my first concern is what to do with the tiles on the floor, some of which have lifted. Those under the "rusty" area are lifted more than those in front of the fire. Obviously I do not want to damage them.

Many thanks in advance for your suggestions.

 

[Tom]

Just wanted to say 'Hi, Merlin...and Mrs Merlin' and welcome to the forum

I can't answer your questions but someone will be along shortly who can. Good luck and don't forget to keep sending pics as your work progresses!!!

Jaqy

 

[JoceAndChris]

Welcome to the forum merlin, and many thanks for sharing the pictures of your beautiful fireplace - that's going to look stunning once stripped!

Have you read this thread where skier-hughes transforms a fireplace? http://www.periodproperty.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=10299 Have you looked at the suppliers on http://www.salvo.com for repalcement parts?

Is this your first?

The tiles are wonderful and I really wouldn't attempt to take them up to relay them. I'm not an expert in this at all but lifting and re gluing doesn't sound like a DIY job, or even an advisable job...it's not like you can pop out and get any more! If there are front or side edges where some sort of filler can be spread in neatly then I might try it.

For cleaning, I'd start very gentle and progress up - fairy liquid, sugar soap before anything stronger.

I tried neat bleach on my marble hearthstone to lift burnt on marks - I can't recommend this as a gentle method but it did make the whole thing look cleaner and brighter! Even so I've had to accept it's never going to be devoid of marks.

Fine wire wool is also a very good cleaning tool, softened in sugar soap.

Hopefully you'll get some more expertful answers soon.

 

[FamilyWiggs]

Welcome to the forum. What a lucky find. I love what you've done with the white gloss paint 8)

The fireplace will look fab when stripped, cleaned and polished up. It doesn't seem to be centred in the chimney - which seems a trifle odd. Is there a fireplace in the room below?

 

[Penners]

Welcome, Merlin. What a beautiful fireplace! I assume the whole thing is cast iron?

I agree with Mrs Merlin that it would look absolutely wonderful stripped and grate-polished.

As regards your tiles, I'm very much afraid you may have a real problem lifting and relaying them without losing any. In my experience, you'll find some of them will come up really easily, while others will be stuck down immovably. But if anything stands a chance of doing it successfully, this tool does:-

http://www.mymultimaster.co.uk/default.jsp

At around £200 it ain't cheap, but it's a really versatile gizmo for which you'll find lots of uses in the future. To lift tiles, you fit a very thin, vibrating blade that you can slide under the edge of the tile and cut through the glue.

As I said, your chances of spoilage are high, I'm afraid, but with patience and care, who knows...?

For a grate, I should hunt around local architectural reclamation yards, as Joce suggests. You should be able to find one that will fit.

Good luck, and do let us know how you get on.

 

[jocelyn plummer]

Joce ---Bleach on the marble :roll: HG do a good marble cleaner--

Merlin, welcome to the site!What a great find, Good luck with your project.
I have a feeling that your fireplace would good polished to a gentle steel colour, not too black.

 

[Pford75]

Welcome to the forum.

Having recently stripped another cast iron fireplace, I can strongly recommend using Klingstrip (particularly if there is a lot of fine detail on the fireplace). Liquid strippers are messy and problematic on a vertical surface and hot guns can be dangerous if the paint contains lead.

I have no connection with Strippers of Sudbury, but I have fonud that Klingstrip is both a time-saver and a lot less messy than other alternatives.

 

[Nigel Watts]

hot guns can be dangerous if the paint contains lead

The electric hairdryer type is also likely to ineffective on cast iron which will conduct the heat away too fast. For that you would probably need a proper blowtorch, which brings other hazards. I used Nitromors on mine, applied with a brush. It was a horrid messy and time consuming job requiring many applications, but the result was good. A poultice based chemical stripper, like Kingstrip, would seem to be the answer.

Who's is prepared to hazard a guess as to its date? 1880's perhaps?

 

[Merlin]

Many thanks for all your replies - I have tried to answer the questions that people have posed.

JoceAndChris
"Have you read this thread where skier-hughes transforms a fireplace? viewtopic.php?f=1&t=10299 "
Thanks for this link on this - I have had a look at it.

"Is this your first?"
It is our first period property and our first fireplace! We have another fireplace in the next bedroom that will require the same treatment as it is in the same shade of white gloss!

FamilyWiggs
"The fireplace will look fab when stripped, cleaned and polished up. It doesn't seem to be centred in the chimney - which seems a trifle odd. Is there a fireplace in the room below?"
The fireplace is off centre in the chimney. This bedroom is above the lounge and there is a fireplace in the lounge below (not original unfortunately).

Penners
Welcome, Merlin. What a beautiful fireplace! I assume the whole thing is cast iron?
Not sure at the moment - as I am stripping layers of paint away I am finding different surfaces. I think part of the mantel may be wooden. Bear with me and all will become clear.

Nigel Watts
Who's is prepared to hazard a guess as to its date? 1880's perhaps?
The house was built in 1896, so you were not far out Nigel!

Many thanks for all the advice on the tiles. Once I have a firebrick re-installed and the paintwork stripped I will give the tiles some attention. At present they are covered with a layer of newspaper for protection.

Hopefully this weekend will give me some more time to remove the paint and see what lurks underneath.

 

[njr_26]

I also have an 1896 house and the fireplace is almost the same as three of the bedroom ones I have (unfortunately one was removed). I think the name of this pattern is Scotia. I removed gloss paint with nitromors and a wire brush. It was very messy but worth it in the end, and then I used grate polish diluted in white spirit so I could apply it with a brush and buff up when dry (much quicker than using paste).

As for the tiles, try ebay or salvage yards, I found some replacements for some broken hearth tiles on ebay, and they didn't cost a fortune either.

 

[Ushy M]

The electric hairdryer type is also likely to ineffective on cast iron which will conduct the heat away too fast.

Aha! that'll be why it took me FOREVER to strip the white gloss off a fireplace in a house we used to have.

Merlin - that house had the original fireplaces in each bedroom and we found the grates under the floorboards when Mr M rewired - just a thought if you happen to be lifting the boards at some point .....

 

[Jon Maine]

Welcome Merlin, I suggest you try the Klingstrip poultice magic suitable for all wizards

The tiles perhaps you should try different tacts with. The tiles should be glazed, assuming that the rust has not become embedded in the glaze. The glaze should be quite durable Oxalic acid is recommended for rust stain removal, it also removes tanin stains too.

Good luck

 

[Feltwell]

I also have an 1896 house and the fireplace is almost the same as three of the bedroom ones I have (unfortunately one was removed). I think the name of this pattern is Scotia.

Yep - spot on, it is indeed Scotia, a very popular late Victorian design. Quite a few manufacturers did very similar versions to this - my own 1899 house having Biclam fireplaces that are quite similar, but a little less ornate than this one.

Whilst searching on Ebay I found that one particular manufacturer's version had "The Scotia" cast into the fire back, these come up for sale quite frequently.

This site is one of the best for spares if you're missing the grate or bars:-

http://www.bygones.net/Subcat_Thumbs.asp?strCategory=FIREPLACE SPARES&SubCategory=Fireplace_Bars