I think that's what the bit in front of my fire is called?
We moved in a few months ago (1920s house) and one of the first things (of many) we noticed is that the hearth of the fire is sinking in the middle, the tiles are cracked.
So I lifted the lose tiles today to find cracked, sunken concrete underneath, removing the loose bits I found... cracked sinking concrete!
Photos attached, looks like it began to sink and someone poured in more 'crete to fix it and that sunk and broke too.
I can feel a strong draught through the largest crack in the concrete.
I'm assuming under this (joisted floor) there should be some sort of base that the concrete was originally poured into, and I'm assuming this has failed, maybe someone has better a understanding of the construction and could advise? Essentially the fireplace will be covered and vented this year so I wont be replacing the hearth as such, but a suitable foundation for carpet will be needed here.
We moved in a few months ago (1920s house) and one of the first things (of many) we noticed is that the hearth of the fire is sinking in the middle, the tiles are cracked.
So I lifted the lose tiles today to find cracked, sunken concrete underneath, removing the loose bits I found... cracked sinking concrete!
Photos attached, looks like it began to sink and someone poured in more 'crete to fix it and that sunk and broke too.
I can feel a strong draught through the largest crack in the concrete.
I'm assuming under this (joisted floor) there should be some sort of base that the concrete was originally poured into, and I'm assuming this has failed, maybe someone has better a understanding of the construction and could advise? Essentially the fireplace will be covered and vented this year so I wont be replacing the hearth as such, but a suitable foundation for carpet will be needed here.