Vintage Cast Iron Surround & Summer Cover

[jamm0]

Hi all,

I recently moved into a pre war apartment, and have some questions about the existing (non-functional) fireplace. I'm not sure if this is the right place to ask my question, as this is more of a cosmetic / antique question, rather than a functional question. With that said...

The cast iron surround has 5 tabs on the bottom of each side. The summer cover / door is smooth on the back. Is there something i'm missing to get the door to connect to the surround, or was this traditionally just leaned against the surround. I have a cat, so my concern is that he may get squished by the heavy door falling without the it being secured to the surround somehow. I've attached a few pictures below for reference.

The piece itself is from Conover Woolley in NYC; it appears there is very little available on the actual manufacturer, only that they existed in the 1800s on Canal Street 🤷‍♂️ The building I'm in does not allow for functional fireplaces, and it appears that there is no suitable damper / smoke shelf so it must have been installed it as decorative only, or existed when the building allowed for fireplaces. Perhaps I can light some candles in the absence of a real fire.

Thanks all for your help - if you have any recommendations on another internal board or external forum I should post this to, let me know!

-j

 

[Seanbear]

Thats an awesome suround on that! Is that marble? Ive been to Canal St. .....NEVER again. NYC is way to big for this kid, lol.....that sucks you cant use it tho....HOA Im assuming?

 

[begreen]

Looks like a coal basket heater. Is the back side of the door smooth and flat or does it have a tab too?

 

[Newbie78]

Magnets?

 

[bholler]

Thats an awesome suround on that! Is that marble? Ive been to Canal St. .....NEVER again. NYC is way to big for this kid, lol.....that sucks you cant use it tho....HOA Im assuming?

It's an apartment building

 

[bholler]

Hi all,

I recently moved into a pre war apartment, and have some questions about the existing (non-functional) fireplace. I'm not sure if this is the right place to ask my question, as this is more of a cosmetic / antique question, rather than a functional question. With that said...

The cast iron surround has 5 tabs on the bottom of each side. The summer cover / door is smooth on the back. Is there something i'm missing to get the door to connect to the surround, or was this traditionally just leaned against the surround. I have a cat, so my concern is that he may get squished by the heavy door falling without the it being secured to the surround somehow. I've attached a few pictures below for reference.

The piece itself is from Conover Woolley in NYC; it appears there is very little available on the actual manufacturer, only that they existed in the 1800s on Canal Street 🤷‍♂️ The building I'm in does not allow for functional fireplaces, and it appears that there is no suitable damper / smoke shelf so it must have been installed it as decorative only, or existed when the building allowed for fireplaces. Perhaps I can light some candles in the absence of a real fire.

Thanks all for your help - if you have any recommendations on another internal board or external forum I should post this to, let me know!

-j
View attachment 301933View attachment 301934View attachment 301937View attachment 301938

My guess is there are allot of parts missing that went behind that cover. Most of those coal units had an insert of sorts. Magnets may work. Do you own or rent?

 

[jamm0]

Thats an awesome suround on that! Is that marble? Ive been to Canal St. .....NEVER again. NYC is way to big for this kid, lol.....that sucks you cant use it tho....HOA Im assuming?

Yes it is marble. It is a co-operative building, so there are a lot of rules... Part of living in close quarters. I rest easier knowing that the 96 year old lady that shares a wall with me won't burn down my apartment because she is making smores in her living room.

Looks like a coal basket heater. Is the back side of the door smooth and flat or does it have a tab too?

Interesting. The back side of the door is flat - the 3rd pic is the back of the door.

Magnets?

Not a terrible idea. They would have to be pretty strong, though - its heavy

 

[jamm0]

My guess is there are allot of parts missing that went behind that cover. Most of those coal units had an insert of sorts. Magnets may work. Do you own or rent?

Own

 

[bholler]

Own

In that case I would probably drill a hole in the outer frame and make a catch to hold the top in place

 

[jamm0]

In that case I would probably drill a hole in the outer frame and make a catch to hold the top in place

I'm hesitant to drill - its a nice piece and don't want to damage it. Outside of finding whatever parts have been lost to time, I'm leaning towards magnets. I'm thinking that if I can get something that is powerful enough to hold the door through the surround (i.e. putting the magnet on the surround interior, and when the door is close it will "latch" shut), that would work.

 

[bholler]

I'm hesitant to drill - its a nice piece and don't want to damage it. Outside of finding whatever parts have been lost to time, I'm leaning towards magnets. I'm thinking that if I can get something that is powerful enough to hold the door through the surround (i.e. putting the magnet on the surround interior, and when the door is close it will "latch" shut), that would work.

It should if you get one strong enough

 

[EatenByLimestone]

There are a lot of those in brownstones in my area. A lot of the firewalls and chimneys are in horrible shape after 100 years of neglect/inattention.

 

[bholler]

There are a lot of those in brownstones in my area. A lot of the firewalls and chimneys are in horrible shape after 100 years of neglect/inattention.

We have quite a few here as well and yeah they are usually in really bad condition

 

[rwhite]

How far or deep do the ears/protrusion go behind the surround? The attached picture looks like you may be able to slide the cover in between the ears and the frame on one side, then move the whole thing over the other way. Not sure that makes sense but here's a pic anyway. This one looks like it may have had staggered ears on it. But I think you get the idea of what I mean. Sure looks to me like it's meant to go behind the outer frame somehow.

 

[jamm0]

How far or deep do the ears/protrusion go behind the surround? The attached picture looks like you may be able to slide the cover in between the ears and the frame on one side, then move the whole thing over the other way. Not sure that makes sense but here's a pic anyway. This one looks like it may have had staggered ears on it. But I think you get the idea of what I mean. Sure looks to me like it's meant to go behind the outer frame somehow.

View attachment 301984

I saw this too... I think they just rested it against the ears from the back side. Since it isn't mounted to a hearth, that is easy to do.

In my case, the cover is larger than the surround opening. It isn't possible to slide it between ears. For one, the ears are all in the same plane. For two, the clearance to do so would require the door to have some flexibility, which it does not. Not sure if that makes sense...

 

[EatenByLimestone]

How about using black RTV to stick it in a vertical position. You may need to support it while it dries.

 

[jamm0]

How about using black RTV to stick it in a vertical position. You may need to support it while it dries.

We want to keep the option to remove it

 

[EatenByLimestone]

Then RTV would be a good option. Just slice it with a sharp blade and it’ll come off.

 

[rwhite]

What I would do to some what maintain the appearance but still allow it to be removed is to get a piece of flat steel or a board painted black that is wider than the out side frame. Drill a hole in the center and either weld or attach a bolt or all thread through it. Make the bolt long enough to go through the center hole on the cover by 1/2" or so. The use a decorative acorn nut to tighten it up finger tight. If the hole is large enough you might be able to use a 1/2" bolt and use a wood stove damper wheel. Only lightly finger tight though

 

[jamm0]

Then RTV would be a good option. Just slice it with a sharp blade and it’ll come off.

I think the plan is to remove it periodically throughout the year, so something less permanent than a cure period, slice, etc.

 

[jamm0]

What I would do to some what maintain the appearance but still allow it to be removed is to get a piece of flat steel or a board painted black that is wider than the out side frame. Drill a hole in the center and either weld or attach a bolt or all thread through it. Make the bolt long enough to go through the center hole on the cover by 1/2" or so. The use a decorative acorn nut to tighten it up finger tight. If the hole is large enough you might be able to use a 1/2" bolt and use a wood stove damper wheel. Only lightly finger tight though

View attachment 302031 View attachment 302032

This seems like a good idea, let me think of how to best do it... might be hard to get the back plate through the opening, Thanks

 

[rwhite]

This seems like a good idea, let me think of how to best do it... might be hard to get the back plate through the opening, Thanks

The back plate only needs to be a few inches wide and maybe 3-4" longer than the opening. You can put some small magnets on each end to hold it the right spot while you put the cover on. Just angle the plate to get it through the opening, let the magnet hold it in place and install the cover.

 

[Newbie78]

If it stands in place on its own and is not on the edge of teetering out, it won't take much magnet to hold it in place. There are some very strong small magnets. Strong enough that you'll likely not be able to get it off without a prying tool

I imagine those wee vertical slots on each side of the surround are for clever clips to hold the front on...

very attractive fireplace, btw! Neat!

 

[jamm0]

If it stands in place on its own and is not on the edge of teetering out, it won't take much magnet to hold it in place. There are some very strong small magnets. Strong enough that you'll likely not be able to get it off without a prying tool

I imagine those wee vertical slots on each side of the surround are for clever clips to hold the front on...

very attractive fireplace, btw! Neat!

Yeah - I think I can use 3 nuts to hold in place with a bar running on the interior. One on each of the vertical slots, one in the middle. That should be more than sufficient to keep it from coming down, and allow for quick opening / closing. Just need to fabricate the rod with the 3 screws.

And yes, we like the fireplace - part of the reason we're trying to make the door work without just welding it on or something is to preserve the piece.

Thanks all!

 

[Newbie78]

I bet there's a couple of factory doodads that go in the slot and then turn (securing a notch in the doodad) and then spring into place to hold that beautiful cover on.