Fireplace diy - I messed that up

[LokisLover]

So I decided to open up a boarded up fireplace. I took away the board to find it filled with rubble. No problem I thought, I'll just clear the rubble, pop one of those chimney ballons in and there you go.

But no, I managed to clear the rubble but so much dust. No hearth to the fireplace just never ending dust & dirt. So of course now the rubble is gone the board won't go back in to place. What do I do now?

Remove the whole thing & board it up properly, tile the bottom bit and stick to he original plan? How I do this on rubble stuff I've no idea. I just want to sort it so I can get new carpet laid and stop the room getting so dusty.

Please can someone help with my sort of disaster. I thought it would be so straight forward.

I really don't know. But I would definitely look into making it into a working fireplace. Are there any specialists in the area who could give you ideas and quotes?

Keep going. A real fire is worth the hassle.

That was envy, BTW - precast flue here, no chance of a lovely open fire.

It's in a bedroom so couldn't be a working fire unfortunately and the one below is boarded up.

I hate ripping original stuff out but at least I have an original working one in my lounge.

Chimney balloon, plasterboard the sides and tile the hearth?

Either get a specialist to take a look and maybe cast you some replacement parts for the grate etc. that are missing. If you do end up removing it, make sure to do it carefully and put it on ebay. They can fetch a few hundred pounds.

I'd just plaster over the brick, doesn't matter if it's a bit rough, then paint it black. Put a board up the chimney to stop drafts and grot. Then put a basket of dried hydrangeas in the opening!

Lovely fireplace. If you don't want to use it, quick fix would be paint or sealant on the bricks, some form of concrete on the base (use a board to hold in place while it sets), then either buy a cheap fire basket and fill with pine cones or fill with very clean logs or candles.

There will be some dust and draughts though.

You're missing the back bit of the fireplace along with the grate etc. Sadly they were often smashed in before being boarded up. You've basically not got much fireplace left there. If I were you, and I've done this myself, I would replace it with a reclaimed cast iron fireplace with a new hearth. I recommend the antique fireplace company.

www.antiquefireplacecompany.co.uk/

And there's nowt wrong with working fireplaces in bedrooms!

Like a poster above said I would get it roughly plastered, paint it black and put something in the hole. We did much the same in our old house.

On a related issue - I want to put cast iron fireplace back into our living room where currently there is a square-cut plastered hole which the carpet extends into. I don't need the fireplace to work, it would just be decorative, but how much work is it to create a hearth and install a fireplace?

Thanks all for your help

quod - Do you mean a cast iron fireplace like the OP's? If so, it's fairly straightforward - DH and I fitted three in our house! The fireplace sits on the hearth (stuck to the floor with adhesive) and the space behind it is filled in with vermiculite. There's a step by step guide here which is the one we followed: www.antiquefireplacecompany.co.uk/fitting.php .

We had a similar thing and got a builder to tidy up the brickwork and lay tiles for a hearth. It's a great feature and will make the bedroom extra lovely :)