Advice on plaster arch

[thepeterwright]

Hi all,

apologies if this is the wrong place to put this question, please let me know if there is a more appropriate thread.

I have bout a ex council house which has what seem to be hollow arches (see picture) in the walls near the fireplace. If a can I would like to remove them, has anyone done a similar job and what could I expect to find underneath.

Advise would be greatly appreciated.

 

[roughcaster]

Looks to me like an old square topped alcove/cupboard that's been made into an archway. If you look at the photo, you'll see a crack across the width a few inches above the top. It's not a very well done job to be honest, so to answer your question, if you remove the arch itself, you'll find the square top of the alcove. If you remove the arch front/underneath strip, you'll find a small timber frame that was constructed to carry the plasterboard or plywood. Once you have removed these few bits of timber, there will be some nail/screwholes to fill up, but there shouldn't be anything major. Try it and see, then let us know.