Fireplace Lintel Cut In Two!

[dllive]

Hi,

Ive wanted to open up my small fireplace as I had a feeling there was an inglenook behind it. The builders have come over and scraped the plaster from the wall to see what was underneath. As you can see from the photos, theyve uncovered a nice big oak lintel - with the middle cut out!!! Any ideas why the original people would have done this?

Everything apart from the brick backfill is cob, so the builders have left it and suggested I get someone who's experienced with cob to have a look at it. How unusual is it to have a cob fireplace back, top and sides?

I had hoped that at the very least I could open up the existing fireplace a little so I could get a woodburner in, but the builders have said this would not be possible becasue the whole lot could come crashing down.

I know you get gauge much from images, but do you think its feasible to open up the inglenook and what would the ballpark costs be? Why would someone cut the lintel in half?

Photos: //www.diynot.com/network/dllive/albums/9574

Thanks

 

[SpecialK]

Does that oak lintel look burnt?

Can you remove some plaster to see what is holding that original lintel up?

 

[dllive]

The lintel doesnt look burnt at all. I thought that maybe that section was removed to fit the backboiler in, but the builder didnt think so. Maybe that section had ben burnt and needed cutting out.

I darnt remove anymore plaster (I have no idea what Im doing!). It does look like the lintel is resting on wood thats going back into the wall. Either side of the inglenook is more cob with lime plaster.