We would like to put a cooker with a ceramic hotplate (width: 900ml, depth: 670ml, height: 930ml) where this fireplace is now.
Height of 930ml is about the first full course of bricks. From the door frame to the the other side of the chimney is 150cm. So should be plenty of space for cooker. The fireplace is about 40cm deep so the stove will stick out of the alcove about 40cm.
To do this we need to remove the brickwork and redo the arch so that it's actually an arch. This is how I am planning to go about this, and would love any advice more experienced people have:
1. Put acrows w/ strong boys in 2 or 3 courses above the arch.
2. Take off the remaining plaster on the sides (this is incredibly hard compared to the rest of plaster (cement render?) and seems like it's going to take bricks with it when it goes.
3. Remove the bricks up to and including the arch.
4. Build back up at the sides - leaving sufficient space for cooker
5. Redo the arch
6. Repair the area where bricks have been cut. I had thought to do this by cutting bricks to size and just mortaring them in (the bricks were cut to make way for old pipes at some point, now removed)
7. Repoint all the brickwork
The plan is to leave the bricks exposed. Any advice on this also welcome. Should we be finishing up a sealant or glaze? It's a cooking area so we wouldn't want brick dust coming down all the time.
So, any advice on any step of the process, or any important steps missed, would be greatly appreciated!
Height of 930ml is about the first full course of bricks. From the door frame to the the other side of the chimney is 150cm. So should be plenty of space for cooker. The fireplace is about 40cm deep so the stove will stick out of the alcove about 40cm.
To do this we need to remove the brickwork and redo the arch so that it's actually an arch. This is how I am planning to go about this, and would love any advice more experienced people have:
1. Put acrows w/ strong boys in 2 or 3 courses above the arch.
2. Take off the remaining plaster on the sides (this is incredibly hard compared to the rest of plaster (cement render?) and seems like it's going to take bricks with it when it goes.
3. Remove the bricks up to and including the arch.
4. Build back up at the sides - leaving sufficient space for cooker
5. Redo the arch
6. Repair the area where bricks have been cut. I had thought to do this by cutting bricks to size and just mortaring them in (the bricks were cut to make way for old pipes at some point, now removed)
7. Repoint all the brickwork
The plan is to leave the bricks exposed. Any advice on this also welcome. Should we be finishing up a sealant or glaze? It's a cooking area so we wouldn't want brick dust coming down all the time.
So, any advice on any step of the process, or any important steps missed, would be greatly appreciated!
