Removing Hearth Extension

[Rickoo]

I have a 15 year old house with a typical brick masonry chimney/fireplace. It has a raised hearth extension. Is it possible/difficult to remove the raised hearth and make it flush to the floor? Tired of tripping over the hearth extension and would like to level it with the floor and maybe tile over the brick.

I know ANYTHING is possible, but is it as simple as removing the two course of brick and level the extension to the floor?

 

[xman23]

Yes, but you need to finish the new surface to be code compliant for the fireplace you have.

 

[mol1jb]

As far as removing bricks goes, it all depends on how solid the mason is between them. Could be an easy job or could take a while. There are definitely more difficult mason jobs to remove than brick.

 

[bholler]

And how raised is it? If it is more than one course of brick there is probably concrete in there it will not be all that easy to remove if that is the case. Post some pics

 

[Rickoo]

Thanks for the responses. Here are a few pictures. A corner brick on the top of two courses is loose. It looks like it would be fairly easy to remove these two course of bricks, but I'm not sure what I'm getting myself into.

 

[mol1jb]

That looks fairly straight forward. The only concern I would have is where the hearth connects into the surround. Might be nothing but if it is weaved into the surround, you may have to cut some bricks

Edit: Upon close inspection of the picture it looks like the hearth is not weaved into the surround but only butted up to it. I would go for it.

 

[bholler]

Thanks for the responses. Here are a few pictures. A corner brick on the top of two courses is loose. It looks like it would be fairly easy to remove these two course of bricks, but I'm not sure what I'm getting myself into.

What are your plans for the hearth? Stove insert or open fireplace? What is under that hearth?

 

[Rickoo]

I plan on leaving it an open fireplace. There is a full basement below the room. Masonry below the hearth extension. Here are a few pics of the support below the extension. What is actually holding the masonry up? The masonry looks like it's just below the top of the floor framing.

My thought is to remove the brick and get the extension level with the floor. Then tile the extension and the face of the fireplace.

Thanks!

 

[mol1jb]

Probably just the plywood. I lived in a house that had a similar situation.

 

[Rickoo]

Not plywood. I can see concrete below this area. (As the pictures show.) Not sure what's holding it up. I can tell you this type of construction is pretty typical around here. I'm wondering if some sort of re-bar or metal is mortared from the chimney into the hearth extension. Could that be possible?

 

[mol1jb]

Now that I look again I see it. That is not something I am familiar with. From the looks of it they had some supports for the pour and then removed them after. They would almost have to reinforce it in order for it so span like it is.

 

[bholler]

Now that I look again I see it. That is not something I am familiar with. From the looks of it they had some supports for the pour and then removed them after. They would almost have to reinforce it in order for it so span like it is.

That is how it needs to be to meet code. Those forms must either be non combustible or be removed after the pour. Looks good to me as long as that extension is the proper size and that slab will still be thick enough after removing that top you should be in good shape.

 

[Rickoo]

How this is thick enough?

QUOTE="bholler, post: 2051745, member: 32126"]That is how it needs to be to meet code. Those forms must either be non combustible or be removed after the pour. Looks good to me as long as that extension is the proper size and that slab will still be thick enough after removing that top you should be in good shape.[/QUOTE]

 

[bholler]

Well to meet code it only need to be 2" but i would want it at least 4" for structural reasons.

 

[Rickoo]

The more I look at this, the more I'm concerned about finding metal support between the extension and the main portion of the chimney. I'm not sure how else this extension is being supported. Hate to start dismantling this hearth to find metal that cannot be removed without losing support for the masonry. Wish I know how this was constructed before I tear into it.

 

[bholler]

The more I look at this, the more I'm concerned about finding metal support between the extension and the main portion of the chimney. I'm not sure how else this extension is being supported. Hate to start dismantling this hearth to find metal that cannot be removed without losing support for the masonry. Wish I know how this was constructed before I tear into it.

Well it should have all been poured as one slab with some re bar in it. But i cant tell you if that slab is flush with the floor or if it is raised and the top layer of brick is set on top of it. It can be done either way and you wont know until you tear into it.