How do you get rid of these (faux?) stone fireplace surrounds?

[KievLoverTwo]

I keep getting houses with these hit my inbox. Sometimes, like one of my childhood homes, they take up half the lounge wall and continue along another wall at lower level.

Do.not.like.

They don't look any better when they're painted white, either, imo. I can't think of any way to change them to make them look charming.

How do you get rid of them, please?

What have you replaced them with, what kind of mess and costs might be involved?

I'm not looking to buy this house, it's just an example.

Tyia.

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/147534713?utm_medium=email&utm_source=emailupdates&utm_campaign=emailupdates1day&utm_term=buying&onetime_FromEmail=true&sc_id=47885232&utm_content=v2-ealertspropertyimage&cid=556269c3-61b3-431e-b66c-42a130a6f1ab&csg=17918501f964a3b428b1611f75be2fa77517df620950ba4d9b9ee0ff284acc41#/media?channel=RES_BUY&id=media2&ref=photoCollage

Our house had brick cladding like that from floor to ceiling on the chimney breast. Not only did it look awful, but the previous owners were very heavy smokers and I swear the bricks were oozing smoky smell back into the air!

DH broke it all off (not a job for the faint hearted, but he knows what he’s doing) then re-plastered the chimney breast. It was an open fireplace that the previous owner had put a wood burner in (awkwardly, and not safely). We opened it up a bit and put a properly installed wood burner in.

Our house had a 'feature' stone fireplace/entire wall when we bought it. It was hideous but actually very easily demolished and plastered over by a local builder, didn't cost that much and all done in a day.

Not only did it look awful, but the previous owners were very heavy smokers and I swear the bricks were oozing smoky smell back into the air!

It would have been. Anything porous will permanently absorb it. I had to throw out all my leather handbags when I gave up smoking.

Had one in a previous house and demolished it with a mallet. Great fun.

This is really appealing to me.

Mallet and crowbar

Mallet and either a brick chisel or concrete chisel is what you probably want.

We had two of those glorious salmon pink 60s fireplaces which we hated. We too took a large hammer to them, they were reinforced concrete with steel rebar but we got there in the end. Very therapeutic. Gained about a foot of room and a lovely brick archway fireplace which we added an oak mantle to. These ones look much easier.

Get someone you know with a mango hammer to do it in minutes, then re plaster. It's not a big job, I don't think.

• kango

"mango hammer"

Please be careful of any links that come up when you google this term! The first link I had was for a very odd looking thing called a "mango punisher"

But a kango hammer - yes. £40 to hire for the day or £50 for the weekend.

That looks so much fun.

What on earth is that? I dare not look!

Just be careful of where the gas pipe is located if you're going for it yourself.

We had ours (similar profile to in the RM listing) smashed out, we needed some work on making sure the chimney was properly supported and a liner putting in, a hearth tiling with heatproof ceramic tiles, plastering and have a wood burner for winter use fitted in the space now. Had the gas pipe isolated from supply and removed. So it was perhaps a bigger job than some above but took around 2 weeks with all the above. Wasn't a cheap job when all of that plus the brickwork that the chimney itself needed (loads of crap bricks had blown on stack) taken into account but it does look and feel better and safer to use!