Looking for the Lintel

[RyanRHCP]

Hi all, looking for a bit of advice on this fireplace opening.


Where would you expect the original lintel to be in this photo? Is it likely to be higher up than the current opening?


Apparently, a previous owner made the original fireplace opening smaller by bricking part of it up. My original plan was to open it back up again, and I assumed it would be a fairly simple case of exposing the lintel and then removing the later brickwork underneath it.


After taking some of the plaster off, though, it’s not as obvious as I expected where the lintel actually is, and I don’t really want to keep removing plaster unnecessarily just to find it.


We’ve now decided to leave the opening roughly as it is and plasterboard it to create a neat recessed fireplace instead, but I’m still curious where the original lintel is likely to be and whether the bricks above the current opening are likely to be part of the later infill.


Any thoughts from people who know what they’re looking at would be appreciated!

 

[Wayners]

Probably wasn't one.
When I've made bigger openings I put a £20 concrete lintel in you can pick up as some DIY stores.
Just solid thick brick built so not going anywhere

 

[ree]

OP,
Back in the day there was always a lintel or an arch installed.
If you hack off a thin chase going up from the centre of the opening you will meet the historic lintel or arch.
The brickwork we can see at the moment looks like fireplace infill.

Whatever you are proposing to do then the flue should be swept.
If the chimney breast is intact all the way up to the stack flaunching then its best to establish what kind of condition the flue terminal on the chimney stack is in?