chimney breast

I have posted this on roofing forum so apologies for repost. We have recently purchased a late Victorian end stone terrace property as our first home and are encountering lots of issues which is proving disheartening and costly! We were aware of damp issues in the upstairs bedroom on the...

Hi, Hoping you can help guide me with some of your thoughts with a damp problem I’m having in two upstairs bedrooms off the chimney. This seems to have been more of a problem in one room than the other for some time although in our other room the paint was cracking around this area which makes...

Hi all, am hoping for some advice. I have recently moved into a circa 1900 stone built farm cottage. I have a growing wet patch on an upstairs bedroom (gable end) wall and ceiling. I had the pointing done as was told that would solve the issue, but it hasn't made a bit of difference. The rain...

Hi all, We live in a 1930s semi, we have an old chimney flue outside (old cooking flue?). A this time of year we always get condensation on the inside bedroom 3 wall, definitely not damp as it dries out very quickly with a window being open (difference inside to outside temps). We've had the...

Hi, full disclosure. Ive never done any plastering, or indoor house painting and plan to do both for our home (Probably not all at once mind you). The question I have is regarding refining the wall surface before painting. Ive removed the majority of wall paper (still need to clean a little...

Ground floor internal wall with a sealed up chimney breast has a damp patch. The previous owners removed the chimney breast from the 1st floor (making the bathroom larger). The chimney breast is still in place on the ground floor. We spotted a damp patch about 2/3 to 3/4 of the way up the wall...

Hello, Trying to open up the chimney for a log burner but hit a problem. I’ve got this far and already hit the bottom of the gather only 80cm off the floor, this is where an old lintel currently sits. Can I keep opening up upwards removing the gather at the side? My corner is nothing would...

Good evening, I’ve an attic room that’s got the chimneys coming up through it. The top plaster went flaky and started to go yellow. We had a damp company out they investigated and said it was condensation. My wife he attempted to fix the damaged area and it’s just starting cracking and...

Hi all, considering buying a 30s semi and noticed a couple of dodgy-looking areas on the walls during our viewing. Would really appreciate a second opinion from anyone with a bit of experience in these things. Firstly beneath the bay window in the lounge, there is a large area that looks...

Hi Looking to install a log burner. After opening up a fireplace we'd ideally like the oak beam to site close to the opening but all I can read is that there is a minimum of 3 x flue size. Is there a way to reduce this and how would it work?

I want to install a log burner in this opening. It has a brick arch lintel that sits fairly low (84cm if you include the bricks at the base). I want to install a lintel and box it off but I'm struggling to work out how I can do this in the least invasive way possible. I think at the very least...

Hi all, Currently renovating 1930s house and started removing some plaster from a bricked up fire place to open in back up. Part way up the plaster changes from what looks like normal multi-finish to what looks like multi-finish with asbestos within it? Was asbestos ever used in wet plaster...

Hi there, looking for any advice and help. We have recently renovated our house (built in 1963), standard brick construction. When we moved in, we had a 70s mistermister type gas fire. We had this disconnected and the small builders opening plastered over. I have attached pictures, for...

Hi, We're in the process of renovating our living room and are replacing the old gas fire with a fake/electric woodburner. Had the fire removed and gas supply capped off and now we've got round to removing the fire surround, mantel etc. Bit disappointed to find some questionable brickwork...

Hi We removed the part of the chimney in our bathroom last year. (Did inform the neighbours) and the reminder was supported by the gallows brackets etc... neighbour was happy for us to remove the part of the chimney and all hunky dory. Build control passed the inspection and got the Completion...

Hello, I'm moving into my house next week and one of the first things I want to do is remove the existing gas fire and surround (see image below) and put in a gas or electric stove (a proper wood burner wouldn't work with the existing flue from what I've been told). As you can see, the chimney...

Property: Victorian Room Kitchen / Diner Is it possible to install log burner inside a fireplace (which was sealed up in the 1970s or 80s). The chimney breast in the kitchen diner. There are wall cabinet on the chimney cabinet as well as a breakfast bar. Is is possible to keep the existing...

I’ve recently moved house and currently in the process of removing back boiler (works on wood) from fire place. I’ve had a plumber disconnect all the water. Was hoping someone could offer some advice on removing the brick work that sits on the top of the back boiler? Would this brick work be...

Hi everyone, wondering if anyone can help! I removed the gas fire and surround we had on our chimney breast and found this underneath. I know that the central brick part (the bit that looks newer/highlighted in green) was installed around 20 years ago (house is 1960s). I want to remove the...

Hi everyone, I’m new to the forum so I hope this is in the right category. I have just moved into an ex military house and it has this chimney stack right through the middle of the living room right through to the roof. I’m wanting to knock it out. Only half of the stack is for the chimney (in...