Refurbish Cottage brick fireplace

Hi,

My Husband and myself are in the middle of an extension and have decided to expose the old fireplace in our loungw. We have found a gorgeous brick fireplace but cant really decide what to do next, having no experience with this before whatsoever. The bricks look a bit old and tired to be honest. Very dirty (thats not too much of a problem though). My main concern is that they are pretty ragged, bits have crumbled off etc. To make a decent job of it do we need to have something to work with in the first place (ie, none damaged bricks). My husband is keen to carry on but i dont want him to spend hours on something that is not worth it. I have been searching for examples of refubished fireplaces etc to see if we have anything to work with but have yet to find any.

Any help greatly received!

Thanks.

Kim

A few broken bricks is fine, it all adds character! The heat of an open fire with no fireback will weaken bricks. Crumbling ones are not great but you could simply chisel them out and replace with similar reclaimed brick assuming they are not in one large patch.

Otherwise a cheap way to clean it all is with a flap wheel in a drill (a wheel of sandpaper flaps) if your going to use the fire then replace the bricks and use appropriate cement.