Opening up a fireplace - A nasty surprise.

[Dopeydaz]

I've removed similar with the medium duty gun from hss

http://www.hss.com/hire/c/breaking-and-drilling/electric-breakers

 

[ree]

Drive your chisel into the bed joints to provide a wedge effect.

Strike and mark a brick on two sides and then hit it - a piece should split off.

 

[dominoman]

I bought myself a cheapo SDS drill yesterday. Wow! What a difference. It has cut through the bricks and breeze blocks like butter. I wish I'd bought this earlier.
If anyone is interested, this is the one I bought (hope links are allowed here?): http://www.screwfix.com/p/titan-ttb278sds-5kg-sds-drill-230-240v/97533?

Amazing drill.

Now though, I'm down to a solid concrete layer and even with the SDS it is really hard to get through. I'm still above floor level though so I guess I just have to keep going?

 

[Dopeydaz]

Yeah I don't have the Titan one I have a Bosch professional. As a gas fitter some of my friends and colleagues swear by the Titan ones. A fraction of the price of the more expensive makes and they take some amount of abuse. And if they break them they throw them away and buy another one cheaper than I can get my Bosch repaired!

One tip though. Don't have it on roto stop for too long without giving it a break. I've seen them over heat and melt seals.

 

[theprinceofdarkness]

Can't quite see, but I would drill out the vertical mortar course down the centre of the fire. Remove as much mortar as possible. Go to the next mortar course left or right of it, put big chisel on it and wack it. When you remove bricks, they need a place to go to. When they are solidly butted up against each other, there ain't such a place, so you have to break them up in-situ. So I am hoping that you are creating such a space and when you wack the chisel, the brick will shear its mortar joint and move into the gap.
Frank

 

[theprinceofdarkness]

Titan drill, my one has always suffered from needing excessive pressure to make it hammer. After a few hours use it would not hammer at all. Every thing in its mechanicals seemed new and shiny. From memory it was that the rod that hammers the back of the drill was stuck. It is not obvious when you strip it that the rod is mean't to be loose. Any way I freed it and it seems to work OK.
Frank

 

[dominoman]

Thanks all for the help! I have finally finished breaking through the concrete and finally swept up all the dust at 11pm last night. I also cut through the wood floorboards to find the original construction hearth beneath

This is it now:


Now there are two questions I hope someone can help with:

1. I have taken the hearth back to where the original one is. I assume I now need to build this up to floor level with fresh cement before putting the decorative hearth on top?

2. There is a wooden beam that runs right under the fire and through the hearth (see photo below). That surprised me a bit! Is this normal in Victorian houses, and should I worry? I know it wouldn't pass modern building regs, but as long as it is covered in cement and then the hearth stone will it be OK to leave?

 

[ree]

OP,
Well done for persisting, good work.

Your intention is to install what was there before: an open fire.

Given that the open fireplace was safely in use for 80 to 100 yrs then if you build up solid (no joins allowed) front and back hearths in a one piece 50mm screed or pour, and have a say 50mm finish hearth on top then the wood work should be safe.
However, I think that you could safely remove that piece you call a wooden beam - it seems to have been used to form the hearths.

If possible, why not crawl below the floor, and sketch a map of how the hearth has been trimmed and framed? Carefully examine all your timbers for rot.

There are packing pieces behind the skirting. Remove the front piece and examine it for rot.

At some stage you will need to have the flue swept and smoke tested, and the stack inspected.

Think HETAS & ask HETAS ref an appropriate alarm.