Restoring a fireplace.

[JanieB]

7 years into this and we have the last room to deal with. Technically with the room above it that really only needs painting and decorating that can’t be done until the lounge is sorted. The big problem is the fireplace which is a huge eyesore.

My late next door neighbours son came to see me when his mum died and waxed nostalgic as he had spent a lot of time in this house when his parents were out at work and the resident at the time babysat him. He told me what was there when he was a child. It was an inglenook fireplace with a huge iron range and delft tiles round it. Later owners had it filled in with the intention of installing a Baxi that was never fitted. That was about 1980/81 ish. The next owners then put another hearth in front with a brick built stand for the tv. Myself and my late OH took that second hearth out leaving us with the previous filling in. And a massive loss of heat up the chimney.

I want to pull it out and put it back to it’s original inglenook, line the chimney (the sort they sent little boys up), install a register plate and log burner. Our problem is that we don’t know if the lintel is still there. It makes a lot of difference as to cost. I’ve test drilled all the way down but only found red brick. Over the last few years I’ve spoken to two old men who worked on the house when the original filling in was done. They said that the lintel was bricked in front and back and is still there. My children have decided that this info isn’t reliable. One of these two has since died and the other has dementia.

I will post piccies when I can shift enough furniture out of the way to take them. What do other posters suggest.

 

[plasticpigeon]

It would be absurd to remove the lintel, so I imagine it is still there, but some people are weird and make very strange decisions so I suppose it may not be. if you take the plaster off will not all become clear?

 

[Flyfisher]

I've opened up a few fireplaces and the earlier lintels were all in place. As PP says, It would be more trouble that it's worth to remove an existing lintel when making a large opening a bit smaller. Indeed, when I opened our large inglenook I removed three smaller fireplaces, each with their own lintel. I'd be astonished if the original lintel has been removed . . . . but I still wouldn't bet very much on it because, as the saying goes, there's nowt as strange as folk. :lol:

So yes, start by carefully removing the plaster to reveal the construction underneath.

 

[MikeG]

Brick, I presume?

The only thing that would make me hesitate would be if the whole thing were cement rendered as I found in this 300 year old cottage I'm living in. Rock hard render destroyed every single brick, ripping an inch of the face off. It was a tragedy. If yours is rendered then by all means have a go, but have realistic expectations. If it's plastered, or boxed in with plasterboard, there's nothing to stop you. No-one will have removed a bressumer.

 

[livias]

Contrariwise

In my last house the bressemur had been completely removed from one inglenook and it was bricked to the ground

If the brick faces are shot or (as in my case here) replaced with cheap and nasty modern bricks then lime plaster over them and it will all look lovely ....

 

[Kearn]

In principle, it is highly unlikely to remove a lintel, however, it isn't always a choice...
When restoring our inglenook (late 1500s-ish) the mid-Victorian looking fireplace was in fact added in the 1950s, when an unintentional fire had been smouldering away for months probably, in the timber frame of our house. Result of this was loss of a section of a cross beam, crude narrowing of the fireplace on one side by 2 foot to accommodate a door and no trace whatsoever of the original beam (well, no actual remains I should say, but we could read where it once was). The Victorian wire cuts were not actually just a covering / infill, but a very well built, structural part of the house.

It's worth getting plaster off to check, but also read the clues you can to understand the original footprint of the fireplace in the room.

Another thought, only guessing without images or any details on your house (style, perod, location etc...?) - when you say drilling, and only finding brick, you could have a brick arch fireplace with no timber lintel. Unlikely, but again, presumption without knowing your house. I do hope the drilling you mention isn't destructive to the soft old bricks hidden behind.

Interested to see pictures and hear some more details / progress...

 

[Kearn]

PS. If you're interested, most of the restoration I mentioned is documented in this thread...
https://www.periodproperty.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=15970