Open up old fire place

[HelpDIY]

Forum, please help

1) Open up fireplace - our chimney trademans will be opening up an existing fireplace which is currently blocked. He proposed to remove to remove pointingg from the top few layers of the bricks and repoint with sand and cement, to remove the existing flaunching, put in new pots with sand and cement and flaunching to complete. Does he need to rebuild the corbel course. By the way what is flaunching/corbelling?

2)Do we need to have ventilation if we were to block up the fireplace

Thanks again guys for your help

 

[noseall]

Flaunching is the mortar bedding securing the pots to the chimney top. It is applied in such a way as to provide rain-water run off to the chimney top. It is benched up in the centre of the chimney tapering off at the edges and is trowelled smooth.

Corbelling is where bricks are laid so that they jut out from the normal upright plain of the wall or chimney. This is to form a drip so that the water run-off drips clear of the chimney.

Yes you should vent a disused blocked up fireplace or flue.

 

[HelpDIY]

Thanks Noseall. Could you please confirm whether I need to have the corbelling build as my current chimney does not have this.

Flaunching is the mortar bedding securing the pots to the chimney top. It is applied in such a way as to provide rain-water run off to the chimney top. It is benched up in the centre of the chimney tapering off at the edges and is trowelled smooth.

Corbelling is where bricks are laid so that they jut out from the normal upright plain of the wall or chimney. This is to form a drip so that the water run-off drips clear of the chimney.

Yes you should vent a disused blocked up fireplace or flue.

 

[noseall]

Not all chimneys have corbelling but it would make sense to build a corbel into a chimney as it offers weathering protection.

I personally would recommend you do.

Corbelling should be built using solid engineering bricks.