Range cooker in large stone fireplace - what to do with back

[Wren]

We are about to site a range cooker partially inside a large stone fireplace and I am trying to decide what to do with the back (and sides) of the fireplace opening. This is the only place to put the cooker in our two bedroom cottage, however in the future we plan to have more living space (repair falling down building attached) in which case we may move the kitchen somewhere else and put a wood-burning stove in the fireplace instead – I would like to retain the flexibility to do this.

The back of the fireplace is a stone wall, which we have tidied up in some areas with lime mortar. There is heavy staining of the stones with soot in some areas. The options are:
1. Leave it exactly as it is. Some people would turn their nose up at the rather poor quality of the stonework and the soot staining, but I really don’t mind this – it is what it is. My concerns with this are practical as I assume that it would be difficult to clean the stone when over time grease from cooking accumulates on the surface.
2. Cover the back with lime plaster, and then limewash in white or a beautiful colour. Again not sure that this would be a cleanable surface. Could just apply another coat of limewash from time to time, but not sure this would work too well over e.g. a heavy grease stain. Or could paint the lime plaster with a washable paint (not breathable but then difficult to get the surface to be washable and breathable).
3. Cover the back with lime plaster and then cover with tiles (easy to clean) – not too keen on this option as I am trying to keep the look as plain and simple as possible and concerned that the tiles could attract attention away from the real stars of the show – the stone fireplace and range cooker.
4. Dry board the back and then cover the dry board surface with paint/plaster or tiles. This would make it very easy to revert back to the original stone at the back of the fireplace at a future date. Are there any issues with dampness building up behind the dry boarding? (I say that because when we moved in we ripped out all the dry boarding in the rooms downstairs, which was rotten, and now the place is much drier. However a lot has changed since then including removal of the leaking immersion heater…)

So my questions are:
1. Am I over-worrying about having a washable surface behind the cooker. (We don’t do a lot of frying, and the distance between the back of the cooker and the rear of the fireplace will be at least 30cm).
2. If we lime plastered the back of the fireplace then how much of a pain would it be if we then at some future date we wanted to remove the lime plaster and return to a stone wall. If the answer is that it would be relatively easy then will probably go for option 2.

In terms of the solid stone sides of the fireplace (which would be approx 20 cm away from the side of the cooker) we could:
1. Leave as is. (Could occasionally give it a quick scrub down as easier to reach than the back of the fireplace).
2. Try limewashing (but the heavy soot staining of the stone underneath would then also end up staining the limewash).
3. Try covering with some other (removable) surface?

 

[Jon Maine]

If it were mine I would lime plaster.

As the stone is of poor quality have some small stones or bits of tile you can break up and fill the deep voids with mortar and push in small solid lumps this will help with slumping before curing and shrinkage too.

I would be inclined to paint with an oil bound distemper which is quite washable and if needed could be scrubed off and re-applied

 

[ian]

1. Am I over-worrying about having a washable surface behind the cooker. (We don’t do a lot of frying, and the distance between the back of the cooker and the rear of the fireplace will be at least 30cm).

Probably. We have a range cooker tight into a brick fireplace, back wall plastered and sides still brick. After 7 years or so the surround shows no real signs of cooking activity. The chimney is vented upwards with the help of an extractor fan, but even the cover of this only needs the occasional wipe. After all, range cooking is more about getting something up to heat on the top and then using the ovens which are vented up a flue.

 

[bower1]

When you say a range cooker, do you mean a 'rayburn' type or a large gas/electric cooker? If you mean a 'rayburn' type, you will get a lot less mess on the back wall than a conventional cooker as the lids will be up when you are cooking, and this catches most of the splashes.

 

[Wren]

Range cooker is conventional type with gas burners on hob (not rayburn type). Cleaning is one of my least favourite jobs so if frying will probably use one of those lids made out of mesh that cut down the splatter.

Hadn't thought of oil bound distemper - will definitely look into this.
Think will probably go for lime plaster (using the cow dung technique mentioned on this forum to stop the soot stains from coming through) and then oil bound distemper. If we ever reverted to using it as a fireplace and put a woodburning stove into the opening then lime plaster at the back of the opening would be more than acceptable.
Still slightly reluctant to cover up the stone (even though it is in a bit of a state).
When we moved in the back wall of the cottage was extremely damp and the lime plaster was falling off to the extent that it was easier to start again on that wall - my experience was that sometimes the plaster came away very easily, but in a few areas it was much harder to remove (in fact some is still there because we are leaving the wall uncovered while we go and sort the drainage out). So probably not that easy to revert to stone, but still theoretically possible.

Thank you for all the responses - this forum is incredibly helpful.

 

[Moo]

Our range cooker would be perfect for your situation.
It has a glass 'lid' that covers the gas burners when not in use, but lifts up to form a most efficient splash-back. There's some sort of safety arrangement that means the gas is cut off when the lid is not fully open.

 

[Penners]

Bearing in mind that this could be a medium-term arrangement, I would go for your option 4. Depending on how long the setup is intended to last, you could either just paint the board with a wipe-clean paint or tile it. I don't think tiles would detract from the look of the range, if they're tastefully chosen.

This would have the benefits of being (a) hygienic and easy to keep clean, and (b) simply reversible when you move your kitchen.

I don't think you need worry about rot in the board, in such a warm location. But to be on the safe side it might be best to leave a small, ventilated air-gap between the board and the chimney walls.

 

[AMc]

Our "Stoves" cooker is 110cm wide and fits snuggly into the fireplace, the sides and back of the alcove regularly get a dousing with bacon splatter or pasta sauce so I wouldn't leave the stone unprotected if I were you.

Lime plastering then applying a paint you can clean fat off would seem like a waste of the breathability of the lime plaster to me?

I would go with option 4 - as carefully as you can batten the back to maintain an air gap and then paint the plasterboard with a washable kitchen paint.
Depending on the look of the cooker and kitchen a stainless steel splashback could be attached directly to the wall and removed again at a later date with little damage to the stone work.

 

[DaveBrigg]

This is how a new cooker was fitted into an old fireplace in Victorian times. If you buy a slightly smaller cooker there will probably be just enough room to fit a copper alongside for the laundry. :lol:


There is a picture of our working kichen on this thread http://periodproperty.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=10039
We had to lime plaster to cover the new back wall, built to repair earlier damage, and chose to tile just to brighten it up a little. The cooker has a low splash-back, which protects the tiles pretty efficiently.

 

[Penners]

If you buy a slightly smaller cooker...

Judging by that picture, you might need to buy a slightly smaller cook, too.