Looking for ideas and advice on rebuilding a fireplace

[woodburningenviro]

Hello

I currently have an enviro boston 1700 insert that belts out the BTU's, but our surrounding brick fireplace is a monstrosity and I would like to change it.

I am looking for ideas for how I can change it. One is to completely remove the brick and put in a smaller hearth on the wall and put the chimney on the outside of the house, perhaps with faux rock. I am not sure as to code rules in Oregon and what is safe for venting the insert. Currently it is run through double walled pipe that was run inside the old existing brick fireplace. Do I need a masonry surround or can I just make a aesthetic hearth and mantle and run the double walled pipe up through the roof and not have a brick surround.



Any ideas? I am extremely comfortable and capable of tearing the whole thing out and starting anew.

Thanks for your help

Anton

 

[byQ]

I'm not commenting on the technical stuff. But why not just cover the brick with some other masonry product - stone, granite, tile, stucco, etc.... You could even make the brick/fireplace disappear by matching the wall paint with the painted stucco on the fireplace. If you didn't want to do it a mason could be hired.

 

[Rickb]

I'm not commenting on the technical stuff. But why not just cover the brick with some other masonry product - stone, granite, tile, stucco, etc.... You could even make the brick/fireplace disappear by matching the wall paint with the painted stucco on the fireplace. If you didn't want to do it a mason could be hired.

I believe he is trying to reduce the size of this.

 

[woodburningenviro]

I believe he is trying to reduce the size of this.

spot on, this fireplace as you can see in the photo takes over the whole room. The wife and i would like it to be smaller and not stick out so much from the the wall.

 

[edyit]

anything is possible, really it all comes down to how much you want to spend, you could demo the whole thing out and put in a zero clearance fireplace, or free standing stove