fireplace help needed please.

[DalMaca]

hi everyone new to the site,

just moved in to a new home and the fireplace was covered up...

as you can imagine im here because i opened it up, ive basically taken out all lose bricks from top to bottom.

there has been fire in there before due to the black soot everywhere, anyway apon digging i unearthed the old flow n return pipes and what looks like a cast iron back plate. (all of witch are now removed)

The reason why im here is to ask what would be my cheapest approach from here. im not a idiot when it come to DIY n stuff but fireplaces i never dealt with before.

im looking a a hole fully bricked (sides and back) almost ready to burn infact, of corse im not going to tho just yet lol.

ive got a good draw, looked up the stacked and can see right up to daylight (although it will be swept)

ive spoke to some people (non experts) and they have suggested a few thing to me but im unsure so im here asking.

EG, could i strip the old bricks out and use engineering bricks with that heat proof mortar?

or should i use a backplate (leaving old bricks there)

Etc Etc... you get my point im sure. i dont want to spend 100s of pounds but would like it to be burning soon.

its not for the "heat" as some people use them now for cheap heating.... its mainly just to look nice and feel cosy.



ive taken some pics of what it looks like now.... dusted down and all the loose bricks removed.

its not central ??? and the lintel is sat on top of the bricks you can see (so lintel if offset aslso) ... from the surround removing all solid bricks has left me 1 brick wide on the left.... and 2 bricks wide on the right ??? maybe more need to come out ?

this is the left hand side... where the old flow n returns were... the top one pulled out the bottom one has been cut flush with old bricks... i assume these need covering up ?

not sure if you can see it well, but there seems to be a layer of bricks in the back (making a shelf) ... do these need to stay in ? ......

could it simply be a case of taking them bricks out... re bricking it up and done ?

Do i need a fireback ??


anyway now you can see what im dealing with and i hope this helps better than me trying to explain.


any advice is welcome thanks again

 

[begreen]

Welcome. I'm not sure, but that looks like it was made to accommodate a built-in coal stove and not meant as a fireplace.

 

[Ashful]

Likely best to get a pro to inspect your situation, and give some guidance based on first-hand inspection, than trust any opinion from someone who hasn't seen your rig first-hand. Hopefully you can find a pro willing to let you do the work you want, under their advice, if you want to make it a DIY project. I've had pretty good success doing the same, as I also prefer to do most work myself.

No matter what you do with the firebox, it is very likely your chimney will need some work, so there's still some money in it for the pro. So, it's not a complete waste of his time.

 

[norton]

Hello I read your post and I am new to this site also I understand u don't want to heat with it u just want some ambiance . What are u heating the house with oil ,gas etc I know it is a little work but why not put in a small
wood burning stove and utilize some of the heat to warm the house and have the ambiance of seeing the fire. . No I'm not a salesman tryin to sell a stove or an insert but if u heat with oil as I do it was a life saver here on Long Island where a fill of 250 gallons and I usually take 3 to 4 a winter cost nearly 1000 dollars a fill just do the math and I use gypsies for my oil so I get the lowest price and I am mechanical and clean my own boiler and save between 125 and 200 dollars every year every penny counts now a days so when I buy a cord of wood for 125 I praise the fire Gods for wood and the stove has great fire views and ease of maintenance dont know the structure in front of opening or if it will hold a stove just tryin to see where u are at My stove was purchased on ebay with shipping 700 dollars the liner is where it gets expensive installed 1300 don't pass out yet this is the fastest return on my money that I have ever seen it paid for itself in 2 months had a 1/4 tank of oil beginning of this past winter and as of today still have about an 1/8 th of tank thats real savings as I said just tryin to find out if this is something u might consider well my fingers are raw from typing and by the way my wife loves the stove and I love to save the cha ching talk soon

 

[DalMaca]

hi there im a putting a stove in now, after long discussion and thought we will be installing one.

and thanks joful, the chimney is being swept and surveyed with cctv to give it a check over although a local fireplace company guy said its looks fine, and as the house was built ion the eraly 70s late 60s there is no regulation saying it has to be relined. but i will cross that bridge when i get it.

i just need to replace the lintel and make the opening bigger.

at the moment i have a throat lintel in there but its so small. could i just use a normal lintel or does it need to be a "correct" fireplace lintel ?


would this be ok ? (beaing in mind everything will have fireproof render as our fishing)

http://www.wickes.co.uk/concrete-lintel-l04/invt/220332/

thank in advance

 

[DAKSY]

Normally your lintel will be a piece of angle iron.
It needs to be inflexible & strong as it supports all
the weight of the fireplace structure above the opening.
Replace it with the right product & that way you will only
have to replace it ONCE.

 

[Ashful]

would this be ok ? (beaing in mind everything will have fireproof render as our fishing)

http://www.wickes.co.uk/concrete-lintel-l04/invt/220332/

That lintel is steel reinforced concrete. Likely would work, but not shown as made for that application. Might want to check with the manufacturer on the temperature issue, or just choose something made specifically for fireplaces. On this side of the pond, angle iron (actually steel, but the old name still holds) is indeed a classic solution. My fireplaces are older and have wood lintels, very common until 100 years ago, but not considered a safe practice today.

 

[DalMaca]

ok thanks for the replies.... so a good old piece of angle iron will be fine then? thats good news i guess as its easy to come by....

any recommended size n thickness ?

 

[DAKSY]

Not sure what your standard brick size is on that side of the Atlantic,
but over here they're generally 4" x 8" x 2.5". Most of the lintels I've
dealt with are 3-1/2" x 3-1/2" x 1/2" thick. The length depends on the
width of the opening.

Looks like these folks are over that way:

http://www.jewson.co.uk/en/templates/product/homepage.jsp