Bricking up a fireplace

Ok - I'm having a go at this one on my own I reckon.

Just need to know what sort of bricks I need to get - I'm assured that they don't need to be anything special as its going to be covered and that I must get an airbrick (although they appear to be a different size to the normal bricks) and that I should us e a couple of L shaped brackets to strenghthen it all and hold it to the wall.

Can anyone give me some advice (mainly on the choice of brick) Its only for a hole about 2ft high x 1.5 ft wide.

Cheers and will post some pics as I do it. (I'll post them here and not in the disaster area hopefully)

Does'nt matter what you use, the most important thing is the airbrick - to keep an airflow through the chimney and prevent any condensation.

Also get the chimney swept - helps to prevent any "possible" staining coming through on the walls - but the air brick should prevent this.

And a couple of brick ties either side.

I'm guessing you are going to replaster it when finished so this is what I did in my first house that had 4 fireplaces to brick up. I did the first one with bricks and got a good enough finish for it to not look pregnant when plastered. Doing it was a pain though cos I'm not a brickie. The next 3 were done with blocks. They are lightweight, easy to handle and can be sawn to shape. Plus, it only took half a dozen to do each fireplace as opposed to god knows how many bricks.

Peadee said:

I'm guessing you are going to replaster it when finished so this is what I did in my first house that had 4 fireplaces to brick up. I did the first one with bricks and got a good enough finish for it to not look pregnant when plastered. Doing it was a pain though cos I'm not a brickie. The next 3 were done with blocks. They are lightweight, easy to handle and can be sawn to shape. Plus, it only took half a dozen to do each fireplace as opposed to god knows how many bricks.

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Well I've already started with brick so will carry on - got a bit of an obstacle going round a pipe but other than that, my only concern is the plasterer saying "Who the hell bricked this up????"

I'm plastering now and unless it's really bad he won't say anything, it's pretty much "all in a days work" in older houses anyway. The walls are never true. He will probably prefer to board it if it is a bit dodgy.
If you are talking about a gas pipe coming through the centre of the breast for a new fire, don't mortar around it. Just leave a gap between the bricks for it to poke through. The gas fitter will want a little bit of "play" in it and the plasterer will not be troubled by the hole. I had the gas fitter visit before I bricked up my fireplace and he told me to leave some "play" in it. I left a 1" hole and he was more than happy with that.