My house was built in the late 1960’s, it has cavity walls of Cotswold stone outside and breeze block inside. One lounge wall has a fireplace built of Cotswold stone bricks, they are of irregular sizes but nominally 8” x 5” x 3”, the actual chimney stack is built outside the house.
The fireplace bricks protrude out the wall about 1½”, and the mantelpiece is also of Cotswold stone and protrudes about 4½” out from the wall. The row of bricks above the fireplace opening are set vertically, i.e. 8” high x 3” wide.
I want to remove the fireplace by cutting 1½” of the bricks and 4½” of the mantelpiece so that I can plaster over them to install a ‘hole-in-the-wall” wall hung fire.
I’ve removed some plaster over the mantelpiece expecting to see a lintel above it to support the internal breeze block wall, there isn’t one, the breeze block internal wall is sitting on top of the mantelpiece !!!
The plaster around the fireplace has not been disturbed therefore I think it’s been in place since the house was built, 40 years.
My questions are:
1. What’s holding up the internal breeze block wall above the fireplace, is it the row of vertical bricks above the opening with the mantelpiece on top, these are below the breeze block wall?
2. If I cut off the 1½” from the protruding face of the bricks and 4½” from the mantelpiece will I weaken the structure holding up the wall, this will still leave the bricks about 4” deep that are under the breeze blocks?
Looking up the chimney it appears to be concrete lined with the Cotswold stone outside it on the outside of the house.
Any suggestions would be much appreciated!
The fireplace bricks protrude out the wall about 1½”, and the mantelpiece is also of Cotswold stone and protrudes about 4½” out from the wall. The row of bricks above the fireplace opening are set vertically, i.e. 8” high x 3” wide.
I want to remove the fireplace by cutting 1½” of the bricks and 4½” of the mantelpiece so that I can plaster over them to install a ‘hole-in-the-wall” wall hung fire.
I’ve removed some plaster over the mantelpiece expecting to see a lintel above it to support the internal breeze block wall, there isn’t one, the breeze block internal wall is sitting on top of the mantelpiece !!!
The plaster around the fireplace has not been disturbed therefore I think it’s been in place since the house was built, 40 years.
My questions are:
1. What’s holding up the internal breeze block wall above the fireplace, is it the row of vertical bricks above the opening with the mantelpiece on top, these are below the breeze block wall?
2. If I cut off the 1½” from the protruding face of the bricks and 4½” from the mantelpiece will I weaken the structure holding up the wall, this will still leave the bricks about 4” deep that are under the breeze blocks?
Looking up the chimney it appears to be concrete lined with the Cotswold stone outside it on the outside of the house.
Any suggestions would be much appreciated!