Reducing a fireplace height

[Newbie1]

Hi all,

I'm buying my first home and the fireplace is as pictured. I like the stove and plan to keep it but design wise I feel the fireplace is too tall and I prefer a more traditional look, maybe half that height with a nice mantlepiece to go around it.

The current owner has installed something which allows the stove to also heat up some of the water for the house (some sort of backburner maybe?) which may be why it was opened up in the first place.

With all that said, will it be possible to change the look of it so that it's more traditional or would it need to be kept open for maintenance etc? Assume if it were to be reduced it would simply be bricked backed up it or is there a better solution?

Thanks!

 

[begreen]

The ugly stack robber boiler can be removed. If that feature is still desired, then replace the stove with one built into the stove body. Otherwise, have the plumbing properly capped off where it connects above and remove the water piping. Then the height of the face can be lowered down on a proper lintel that will shoulder the weight.