Opening fireplace up

[Huwevans]

Hello anyone help we are opening up our fire place but has a weird lintel fitted just a concrete slab with a hole in it that goes from the front to the back, can these slabs be removed and a standard lintel be fitted? Or just fit a lintel underneath the slab at the front.

 

[23vc]

As well as supporting the front brick skin, it could be supporting the corbeling/gather inside, ie where the actual chimney opening corbels off to one side/narrows, which needs support front to back as well as just at the front. Guess you could try and take a phone pic or something through the hole to get a better idea. If you take the 'slab' out, you'd likely need a concrete lintel across the front, but also lintels front to back. The small steel "w" lintels can be used for the front/back. Likely you'll want to strongboy prop it to get that out and the new lintels in. Got pics of when I did mine I can upload if it helps - didn't have that slab though, just the usual builders opening. Or if you're not bothered about raising the height, and just want to go wider, then yeah I guess you could get a lintel in underneath it, but that would obviously reduce the height even more.

 

[ivixor]

I have exactly the same thing, and looking at installing a stove right now. Don't suppose you are in a 3 bed ex council semi?

On mine, the right area is a solid mass of brick and a strange rectangular hole, maybe for an old back boiler? The flue curves right and over this solid brick area. I decided not to try and break all this out and instead to go for an inset fire, which slots nicely into the hole you already have.