Overlapping fireplaces

[ireneadler101]

Hi all,

We've finally finished unblocking our fireplace, only to find that it overlaps with one on the other side of the wall...they don't share a flue.

Has anyone come across this before? It's not what I was expecting to find! Do you think that this was done originally? The fireplace we're uncovering is in the original dining room of our Victorian house - the fireplace on the other side would have been in the pantry/kitchen/scullery, and is covered in a render made to look like tiles.





View attachment 2

 

[MikeG]

That means the one on the other side of the wall is a later insert. Don't put your tools away just yet!

 

[88v8]

Remarkable.
That one with the faux glazed tiles. How odd. And the way it's leaked smoke.

The interference could have been what's known in the trade as a cock-up, but if they both had clay firebacks they would have worked OK as that would seal the communication.

Do you plan to keep and use both? Are the flues functional?

Ivor

 

[TheRoost]

What is the total depth of the chimney breast?

We have soemthing similar in that we have a deep chimney breast in the dining room (currently a working fireplace) and on the other side is the scullery, but here it has been filled in and covered up with kitchen units. I plan to open it up eventually, but I will keep a very open mind now and tread carefully as I assumed they would be perfectly in line, i.e. back to back!

Is there anything similar in the rooms above, e.g. bedroom fireplaces that are back to back?

 

[Lime]

It's worth remembering that old kitchens usually had a range cooker and perhaps a copper boiler for clothes.
(The "Copper" may have been very crude or quite complex in structure.)
The brick flue was tailored around the range's flue outlet/s.
A range could have several different flues depending on its complexity.
Nothing was standardised in those days so there were many variations of flue outlet.
A range's flue outlet/s could be anything from a neat pipe-to-chimney connection to the necessity to build a complicated brick structure within the range to form the flue/s.
Consequently what is left behind when the original range has been removed long ago and perhaps other fireplaces or ranges installed is a great puzzle which may never be solved.
What appears to be a gap may have been where pipes were enclosed in mortar to feed a hot water tank for instance?
Or perhaps the gap is the result of someone being over zealous straightening up the back of one of the fireplaces or just tidying up loose bricks ending up in a hole?