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Original poster

Replacing Victorian fireplaces - cost?

33 replies

LeavesOffTheCactus · 19/09/2021 16:46

Hi all,

I am moving into a new house that has original fireplaces, which is fantastic, except that I don’t like any of them. I absolutely love cast iron fireplaces but the ones in this house are all marble. I can tolerate the plain white marble ones but some are really not to my taste, so I’d like to replace them with cast iron fireplaces.

Does anyone have any experience of removing a fireplace surround and mantel? How much did it cost you? Was it an easy, one-day job or a major and messy undertaking?

When buying a new one do I have to make sure measurements match or do I just have to make sure it’s roughly proportionate to the room, with the builder installing it making it work?

Is there a market for marble fireplaces for me to make some money back on the ones I don’t like? I see a lot on eBay for sale but that doesn’t mean anyone is buying them.

Thanks in advance!

OP posts:
isseys4xmastinselcats · 19/09/2021 17:46

if you have a local reclamation house place near you they may be able to supply you with cast iron ones that fit and may buy the marble ones off you or local auction house may be a good place to sell them as people who now want to put back original features go to auctions

StrongArm · 19/09/2021 20:38

How many do you have in the house?

We have part original and part replaced in ours and I'm looking to do the same

One of them was turned into a gas fire so I got a gas engineer to check it was safe first (the gas was capped!).

Next step I'm getting a chimney sweep out to check whether the chimneys are ok!

I've been looking at reclamation yards - marble surrounds go for a lot of money so I would think about selling those first before you get new ones!

StrongArm · 19/09/2021 20:42

Btw I took one out and it was an easy job - the gas engineer actually showed me how but I don't know if that's because ours were a specific type. You just need to look for the fixings. If they are marble they will be bloody heavy so I wouldn't try it on your own!

Sweptwindy17 · 19/09/2021 21:27

Just search eBay for 'Victorian tiled fireplace' or something like that. They're not hugely expensive. I recently had a 70s white-painted brick monstrosity smashed out and replaced with a cast iron tiled fireplace. Oh the relief.

Original poster
LeavesOffTheCactus · 20/09/2021 06:36

I have 3 at least that I want to get rid of. The white ones I could perhaps tolerate keeping if I can’t find more than 3 nice cast iron replacements or run out of money. Thanks for the tips about reclamation yards - will check them our

OP posts:
NeilBuchananisBanksy · 20/09/2021 06:42

Can't you live with them? It seems crazy to replace an original fireplace with reclaimed ones.

I know the marble surrounds you mean. They were high end in their day.

You might regret it in a few years.

Rose5678 · 20/09/2021 07:35

Are you sure they’re marble and not slate with painted marble effect? Do you have pictures?

userloadsofnumbers · 20/09/2021 20:07

Hi Op

Try this place - they can buy your marble fireplaces and they also sell cast iron Victorian ones.

www.thearchitecturalforum.com/collections/latest-additions

OriginalLilibet · 20/09/2021 20:45

Please don't vandalise your home by stripping the original features to replace them with something which matches current tastes.

earsup · 20/09/2021 22:53

i like marble ones...keep them....if not look on gumtree or ebay for the iron ones...price has dropped...check they have all the bits tho as some hard to find, pay around £40...salvage yards will charge hundreds for same items.

StrongArm · 21/09/2021 08:18

ours have been brutalised already sadly - a hangover from the 1970s which have a lot to answer for!

I'm trying to find reclaimed ones that now fit the gaps but it's not easy

agedmother · 21/09/2021 08:33

Buy a modern home? Would be a shame to destroy original features of a Victorian house with something that feels temporarily fashionable to you. You may also have reduced the value of your home on resale.

GreatHitchenKitchen · 21/09/2021 08:56

Honestly if they are original keep them and find a way of decorating that works with them. They add value to the house. It’s also a really messy job taking them out and no guarantee that they’ll come out in one piece.

GreatHitchenKitchen · 21/09/2021 08:57

They are becoming sort after and a replacement will be twee. I regret not keeping ours and getting an inset woodburner rather than what we did which was take it out and sell it.

TheLeadbetterLife · 21/09/2021 08:59

Are they marble or painted to look like it? If they’re original Victorian unless your house is very grand they’re likely to be a paint effect (I had an Edwardian house where some of the fireplaces had been painted to look like mahogany - they were mass produced cast iron and slate in reality).

If they are painted slate, you could repaint them to your taste.

Original poster
LeavesOffTheCactus · 21/09/2021 16:04

I hear what you’re saying about keeping original features and I wouldn’t want to strip the house of features. The fireplaces I’m talking about aren’t in the best condition and one may well have been painted over.

The house will still be absolutely replete with original features even if the two/three fireplaces in question are replaced with another fireplace of a similar era that is more to my taste. There will still be fireplaces left untouched.

No interest in living in a modern home but thanks for the suggestion.

OP posts:
Original poster
LeavesOffTheCactus · 21/09/2021 16:08

Having had another look I think two of them will look fine if given a good clean. This is a picture of the one that I really don’t love. Apologies - it’s very blurry as it’s a screenshot of an agents picture.

What do other people think of it?

Replacing Victorian fireplaces - cost?
OP posts:
TheLeadbetterLife · 21/09/2021 16:17

Those look like painted slate to me - they're very similar to the ones that were in my house.

I would strip the marble effect off and paint them in a colour that you like. They'll look brilliant.

StrongArm · 21/09/2021 16:28

If it is marble it's worth a fortune

www.salvoweb.com/shop/category/chimneypieces-fireplaces-grates/location/all/region/all

There's a few on here that are going for thousands

I would keep it - that type of feature is a massive selling point. The tiles are lovely too

StrongArm · 21/09/2021 16:28

I agree if it's painted slate, it's worth then painting it a colour you like!

NeilBuchananisBanksy · 21/09/2021 16:29

I think it's lovely! Please don't rip it out.

Rose5678 · 21/09/2021 16:34

I don’t think it’s marble - just painted. You can just use paint stripper and it’ll be plain black slate underneath.

GreatHitchenKitchen · 21/09/2021 16:39

I really like it, it's in proportion and in keeping with the house.

isseys4xmastinselcats · 21/09/2021 21:03

ooh now i like that one if you saw the wooden 1980s abomination i have in my front room which OH refuses to remove you would re fall in love with yours

Saz12 · 21/09/2021 22:03

Honestly, even if everything else is original, removing the original fireplaces will still reduce the value of the house.
Once it’s gone, it’s gone, so you need to be certain that you’ll not regret it later.
I can’t tell if it’s marble or not from the picture, sorry! If it is, then that gives you a pretty good solution- just strip old paint off and redo.
Looks like the colour could look good against darker blues and greens, it’s not flattered by the greyish wall colour in the picture.

Ultimately, I feel you’d be making a mistake in removing them. But its your home, it’s not listed or in any way historically or architecturally significant, so it’s your choice.