Matherly Insert Removed in 1950s home. How can vent above it be removed?

[BH-1]

I am brand new to wood stove inserts and fireplaces, in general.

I removed this Matherly Heat Saver wood stove insert from a home built in the 1950s. There is a grill with a vent above the fireplace where the insert used to be. It seems but I can't tell for sure, that the vent is part of the metal firebox and the whole thing got bricked in after it was installed. There is also a light switch to the left of the hearth that turns on fan or a blower.

1. How can I remove the interior vent over the fireplace? I'd like to put a mantel in and may just leave it as a fireplace without a new insert. I'm comfortable removing brick but am not with disassembling something connnected to the metal firebox. If I have to hire someone, I'm not assuming they will know what to do since it's an older installation.
2. Can I reduce the hearth width? I'd like to make it closer in size to the actual fireplace. It runs across 3/4 of the wall. There are slatted vents in the hearth on either side of the fireplace.

Thanks for any insights and guidance!

 

[begreen]

I'm not familiar with this brand, but it looks like it is a heatform-style fireplace, not an insert. One option is to install an actual insert into this fireplace. This would require cutting a couple of the center heat tubes. The hearth width may be reduced a bit, depending on the fireplace width.

Fireplace hearth extension rules

This blog post is about fireplace hearth extension rules, but first, a quick story to explain why I'm blogging about such a boring topic.

structuretech.com

Note that there are clearance requirements for a mantel that is combustible. These to not apply to non-combustible mantels.

 

[BH-1]

I'm not familiar with this brand, but it looks like it is a heatform-style fireplace, not an insert. One option is to install an actual insert into this fireplace. This would require cutting a couple of the center heat tubes. The hearth width may be reduced a bit, depending on the fireplace width.

Fireplace hearth extension rules

This blog post is about fireplace hearth extension rules, but first, a quick story to explain why I'm blogging about such a boring topic.

structuretech.com

Note that there are clearance requirements for a mantel that is combustible. These to not apply to non-combustible mantels.

Thank you for your response, Thank you too for the link and reminder re: mantles/combustible material.

Here's a picture of the woodstove insert that was there.

I found a video on Youtube with someone demo-ing a woodstove insert with the vents above. He was pulling the entire brick face off. It revealed a firebox and the vents that were integral to each other. Removing the firebox/upper vents is likely beyond my skill set. I don't want to solve one problem and create a bigger, expensive one!

 

[begreen]

That old timer insert was probably installed as a slammer with no stainless line flue connection . It also violated the hearth extention requirement of 16" in front of the stove doors. A modern insert installation is quite an improvement over this and safer. The modern insert connects to a 6" insulated liner. It looks like the center tube would need to be cut out so that the liner clears. This can be done with a sawzall or angle-cutoff tool.

 

[bholler]

Thank you for your response, Thank you too for the link and reminder re: mantles/combustible material.

Here's a picture of the woodstove insert that was there.

I found a video on Youtube with someone demo-ing a woodstove insert with the vents above. He was pulling the entire brick face off. It revealed a firebox and the vents that were integral to each other. Removing the firebox/upper vents is likely beyond my skill set. I don't want to solve one problem and create a bigger, expensive one!

You cannot just cover those vents and have a functional fireplace.