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Breaking out fireplace - can’t find Lintel or Archway

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Hi - currently breaking outafireplace in circa 1900 terraced house and feels like a bit of an opening disaster…. What you can see is where I have removed what wasn’t (or didn’t look like) original brick work under the plaster. I expected to find a lintel or archway, but all I’ve found is poor brick inside at odd angles and trying to work out what’s what. I don’t want to go too high - anybody come across anything like this before?
 

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Maybe a old iron fireplace was there and taken out.
You can put a concrete lintel in.

What's the plan.

Edit.

Here is one I took out the fireplace. No lintel either.
Had a right job getting the iron fire out..

1000011011.jpg
 
Hoping to put a wood burner in place - but unsure what I should be taking out… looks a mess…

Perhaps get a lintel in there before removing anything else?
 
Going to have to open up.

Won't go anywhere so don't worry about lintel yet. Take advice if unsure.
 
OP'
1. What was there before is mostly irrelevant to your proposal.
2. Some of what you show in the pic is infill brickwork.
3. Going up in a vertical line at the centre of the chimney breast - & you typically should come to a brick arch or maybe a lintel.
4. Nothing will collapse if you remove the infill.
5. First you select a burner, and then you work to that burner installation instructions.
6. So until you have the installation dimensions you wont know how wide or how high the opening must be?

Use the top right search facility to read how previous burner installations in chimney breasts were done - & read the Similar Threads below?
 
I expected to find a lintel or archway, but all I’ve found is poor brick
In this case, I agree with @ree
It looks to me that you're still finding infill, and an arch may start a couple of courses higher up - similar to this...

Screenshot_20250303_085838_Chrome.jpg


You may be able to look up, or take a photo from the inside of the fireplace to confirm.
But again....
6. So until you have the installation dimensions you wont know how wide or how high the opening must be?
 

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