We live in a house build about 1902. We still have the original fire surround, the fire place has been boarded over with a tiled board and a gas fire put onto the front so it is proud of the tiled back. The fire surround / mantlepiece is marble but has been painted. The hearth has also been tiled in the same tiles as the fireplace board.
So... the two questions I have are:
Should we see if we can open up the fireplace - are they efficient? The gas fire currently there is a lovely 80s model needs replacing, as although it works it is old and very inefficient. I think that the tiles are protecting the actual fireplace as they are flush with the edge of the fire surround, but we would have to remove & cap the gas fire to be sure. The other option is to get a gas fire and either sit it in the fireplace or block the fireplace back up and retile the surround. Either option would only really be for occasional use when it's very cold.
Secondly, the surround looks like it's been painted in normal, matt paint. Is this removable (I know marble is very delicate). The marble underneath is quite heavy & dark- black/ brown with gold & green veins through- but has been painted cream. If we can't remove the paint without damaging the marble should we look for "proper" heatproof paint if we want to open the fireplace up?
Hopefully this makes sense to someone . There is, of course, the option to rip everything out and replace it all but I feel reluctant to do that as I feel it belongs in the house.
Thanks for reading!
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Property/DIY
Fireplace Advice Please!
11 replies
Mamf74 · 16/10/2012 09:59
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