Fireplace opening enlargement

[jocollett]

Hello, hope someone can give me some advice about our chimney breast.

We have a 50's excouncil house and are wanting to make the fireplace opening larger. The breast is 130 cm wide but the opening is only about 45cm wide and about 55 high with a steel lintel that just covers the gap.

I've had a look up the chimney and on either side of the opening there seems to be 2 pillars off roughly stacked bricks that aren't fitted into the back or front and only held in with mortar. Some bricks are laid on end and some laid flat. After about a meter up the pillars stop without anything resting on them (that I can see from the opening). Above this the chimney narrows. Also there are capped gas and water pipes running in through a hole in the side.

Does this sound like the old opening has been reduced in size to accommodate a gas stove or are chimneys built like this anyway?


Many Thanks

Jo

 

[stuart45]

Jo, can you put some photos on? Where it narrows is probably the gather.
This is normal contruction.

 

[Chukka63]

sounds like its been filled in and probably had an old back boiler in there originally.

 

[jocollett]

Thanks Stewart and Chukka. I've up loaded some photo's below, hope they work and give you a better idea of the structure.

It's definitely been modified a bit to suit the gas stove and boiler. Just wondered if it had been modified alot to include the 2 pillars either side of the opening.

Either way do you know if it's relatively straightforward to remove them? Do they support the weight of the chimney or does it pass down the sides, front and back?

Am I right in thinking that if I support the weight at the front with an acrow or two, remove a triangle of bricks from the front, remove the pillars and then fit a suitable concrete lintel, I'll then be able to widen the opening?

Would like to do it myself but may ask a builder, just wondered if it was feasible or if it would cause the house to fall down.javascript:emoticon('')

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• jocollett
• 3 Jan 2010
• 1

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• jocollett
• 3 Jan 2010
• 1

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• jocollett
• 3 Jan 2010
• 1

Untitled

• jocollett
• 3 Jan 2010
• 1

 

[stuart45]

View media item 16306If you look at the picture above, you can see the builders opening, which is the main structure. The bit that you want to remove is just an infill to fit around the gas fire/back boiler and can be taken out.
That is an upstairs breast, and so the opening should be bigger on yours.
View media item 16307

 

[jocollett]

Thanks Stuart, will get hold of a builder and get a quote.

Jo