fireplace help

[deezer]

Hi guys - not sure what to do about this little problem so I thought you guys could suggest something. For the last few days I have heard some movement from my chimney and just assumed that birds had built a nest up there. Small bits of dust and masonry (not brick, I don't think. little pieces of rock than crumbles when you rub it) fall into my fireplace.
This morning I heard some more movement, more of that crumbly brick fell than usual and I heard something else fall. I am fairly sure that a bird has died in there and fell to the bottom. My fireplace is tiled into the wall (no screws or anything) and it has a top with a few holes to let heat up the chimney. One of my cats (the one who revels in death the most) is spending a great deal of time sniffing at the fireplace . I expect in a few days the stench of death will fill the living room.
I'm not going to be able to move the fireplace without a crowbar and it's nothing I want to try. Would I be able to pay someone to look behind/ontop of it? Doesn't look like you can remove the thing without causing damage, it may need re-tiling after to put the housing/frame of the fireplace back. How much does that sort of thing cost?
If I wanted to get myself a whole new fireplace put in there - how much would I expect to pay for that sort of job?
Thanks for any suggestions.

 

[xerxes]

If this is an open fireplace, it will probably be fitted with a damper (metal plate) inside at the top. If this is closed, open or remove it and the bird may fall out (or if it is still alive, you can reach up and grab it; wear a gauntlet if you're squeamish about this).

If the bird dies in the flue and you can't get it out, it's likely that most or all of the smell will go up the chimney with the draught.

You can cap the chimney to stop this happening again; it depends whether you're using the chimney, and if so you are what fuel you're using. When I did mine recently I used an aluminium cap which is horribly noisy in the wind. Never again: I'll have to get one that's quiet.

Whether you use the chimney or not the cap must allow ventilation of the flue.

Shortly after I moved into our present house I had to remove thirteen jackdaws from a bedroom fireplace. One of them was still alive.

 

[deezer]

Thanks for the reply mate. I checked the top of the fireplace but it looks like it's immovable. It's a fixed plate all the way around the open fireplace. It's one of those gas fires with the fake coal - there's a couple of large holes at the top for ventilation. Doesn't look like I can reach up there and get the thing...just put the fire on for a little while but there wasn't any noise or movement. Pretty sure the thing is dead.
Sucks about your jackdaw problem - let's hope there's only one of them in there. Do you reckon it'd be for the best to get a new fireplace? It is an ugly thing and if what you say is true about the air-flow taking the smell away - it'd give me some time. A relief...I guess I could just wait for the thing to rot.

 

[xerxes]

I guess that if a smell problem doesn't develop you can just leave well alone, until the time comes to replace the fire with something you find a bit more aesthetically pleasing.

 

[foxhole]

You could cut open metal sheet with jigsaw and then re-instate with a slightly larger plate to seal.

 

[wms]

You could cut open metal sheet with jigsaw and then re-instate with a slightly larger plate to seal.

not if the fire is still used

If the flue in question is still used for the fire the best advise to give you would be to call in a qualified gas engineer (corgireg). if there is any possibility the flue could be restricted the smell from a dead bird is the least of your worries.