Fireplace dismantling

[precaud]

My woodstove sits on a massive concrete hearth (poured all the way through to the basement floor!), much of which is occupied by a large (7 ft. wide) fireplace. Connecting the stove into the fireplace chimney flue was a real pain and a bit of a kluge, mainly because the stove height is the same as the fireplace opening... So, as a prelude to lining the masonry chimney, I've decided to remove most of the fireplace to give more room to the stove, allow it to be vented out the top, and optimize the whole event for the stove.

It looks like pretty straightforward work, but I thought I'd ask for voices of experience to chime in before I dig in.

Thanks, John

 

[begreen]

Having just done this I can offer a little advice. This is a big job, but can go smoother if one is prepared. I would recommend having a helper. For me it was my college son. Allow 2-3 days for the whole thing.

Have a piece of sheetmetal ready to cover the hole in the roof. It should be several inches bigger in each dimension than the hole.

Be prepared for a whole lot of rubble. For us it was 3 Ford Ranger pickup loads. This creates a lot of dust. I laid tarps on the floor and tented a corridor from the fireplace to the nearest window for tossing out the bricks. Have a good respirator mask or at least a box of high qualtiy dust masks. The rubble we carried out, box by box in several, heavy reinforced banana boxes and carted to the truck.

Our fireplace was old and unlined, so the bricks came out pretty easily in most cases. If your chimney is newer and lined, expect to fight a lot more to remove the bricks.

 

[precaud]

Thanks for the tips. It sounds like yours was a more ambitious project than mine!

 

[elkimmeg]

as an active member we would like that you continue your participatiion. Before blasting away please think your situation threw.
Remember there is a thememdous amount of weight sitting above the fire place opening. Take precautions to support it

 

[precaud]

as an active member we would like that you continue your participatiion.

Soitenly! and thanks...

Before blasting away please think your situation threw.

Have definitely done so...

Remember there is a thememdous amount of weight sitting above the fire place opening. Take precautions to support it

Most of the vertical mass is built into the brick wall and won't be touched. I will, however, be removing most if not all of the unsupported weight, and leaving two columns on either side for esthetic reasons.

The size of this fireplace was gross overkill in this room. The only reason I can imagine why they made it so big in a smallish living room is... they owned the lumberyard next door and all their wood was free! Such was the energy mentality in the 1930's...

 

[precaud]

Dismantling is proceeding carefully. It's a bigger job than I anticipated. This thing is massive. Here's an interesting question.

Current construction is an outer layer of firebrick (the cream-colored stuff), then a layer of red brick, then a one-foot space which is filled with sand and rock, then the outer wall of the house which is multilayer red brick.

The one-foot space will still be there when I redo the brickwork. Would it be better to fill it with insulation, or fill it back up with the sand and rock? I'm thinking perhaps it would be better to thermally decouple the mass of the hearth wall from the outer wall.

Whadya think?

 

[elkimmeg]

The area behind the fire box is suposed to be solid masonry, However in the paqst it was a common practice to fill it with sand.
It sounds like it was built up to spec and plenty of filled space existed. To day if rebuilding it it should be solid masonry, meaning mixing bags of motar and filling it.

 

[precaud]

It sounds like it was built up to spec and plenty of filled space existed. To day if rebuilding it it should be solid masonry, meaning mixing bags of motar and filling it.

Elk, is that true even if it's no longer a fireplace, but only heat storage for the woodstove?

 

[precaud]

Have now finished with the brick work, and only need to pour concrete for the mini-mantles on either side, plaster around the edges, and then do the liner.

I calculate, I have added 990 pounds of thermal mass to the hearth (750 in bricks, 240 in mortar, not counting water).

 

[DonCT]

pictures pictures we want pictures!

 

[precaud]

Hey - can't a guy have a moment of pride without having to actually show his work? %-P

I'll put up pics when it's done and the stove is installed. Gimme a few weeks...

 

[wg_bent]

Hey - can't a guy have a moment of pride without having to actually show his work? %-P

I'll put up pics when it's done and the stove is installed. Gimme a few weeks...

When done? Gimme a break. How can we critique the work and offer suggestions (after you've poured concrete of course) during the construction if you don't give us pictures!!

 

[precaud]

Let's see... I started this mess on June 2nd, said I'd be done in a 'couple weeks' on July 23rd, and here we are, mid-September... (cough!) If I'd known it would take this long, I probably wouldn't have done it.

Anyway, there's still some cleanup to be done, but the liner is in, the masonry, plastering, and painting is finished, and today I can finally see what it looks like. I'll install the Morso this week. The paint color isn't right but I'll live with it for now and repaint the whole room at some point.

I've attached a couple pics, one taken last winter with the F602 installed, and the one taken today. The camera angles aren't the same, but this was the only 'before' shot that showed the funky condition of the old fireplace. The concrete mantle in that pic was poured in 1930, that stuff was hard as rock! It was BIG FUN smashing it out while still retaining the columns on either end.

You can see, the shape above the bricks going to the ceiling is decidedly feminine... it's awful tempting to put a few suggestive lines here and there to guide the imagination...

I'll post another pic once the stove is in and things have been cleaned.

 

[DonCT]

Hmmmm, I can't seem to open the pics......

Don't feel bad about not being complete. I still haven't finished the trim/painting on my stove install. And that was back in March/April

 

[Homefire]

Did the old fireplace work very well?
Looks like it may have had good heat storage what with that big old butt and legs.

 

[precaud]

Did the old fireplace work very well?

I don't know, I never used it as a fireplace. The previous owner told me their heating bill was higher when they used the fireplace, so I didn't bother with it.

 

[begreen]

Whew, I appreciate all the hard work you've put into this. Congratulations on a job well done. Now lets see the stove in there.

 

[precaud]

Thanks BG, and I look forward to seeing your new Castine install too. That's a great stove.

 

[ourhouse]

Looks great. When do we get to see it with stove in it?

 

[precaud]

By next weekend... got a massive cleanup to do first.

 

[begreen]

Thanks BG, and I look forward to seeing your new Castine install too. That's a great stove.

Initial shots are posted in the Pictures forum. New floor comes in two weeks. That will dress up things a bit.

 

[precaud]

I finished the stove install yesterday. Only thing that remains is to seal the blockoff plate and inside pipe and... clean up. Made a fire this morning to take the chill off, everything works superbly! The attached pic was taken after the flames subsided. (Photographing black objects against a white background is hard!)

The 14' chimney draws like crazy, and the Morso loves it. To insulate the rigid liner, I bought a 25' roll of 1/4" ceramic blanket, wrapped two layers around each pipe section, and secured with chicken wire. Total cost around $40.

Thanks to everyone for their input on this project!

 

[begreen]

Nice clean look and just in time to get cooking.

 

[elkimmeg]

Whow Great job. We had some differences of oppinions but the final results look great

 

[precaud]

Thanks Elk. Let's just say it was thought-provoking, and well-intentioned by all... your input was appreciated.