Ideas for horrible old fireplace

[littleFinch]

Fireplace in bedroom is covered but still has horrible plinth and mantelpiece. I'd like to take them all out and just have a flat wall as it's more useful in the space. Is there anything we need to consider? Who would we get in to do this?

We would consider this a DIY job (husband is very practical), so any general builder or handyman should be able to do it. Depending on the age of the property you may even find a nice original fireplace in there. It's just a case of taking off the surround and backboard, using block to fill the hole and then replaster and replace the skirting. Might be years if old soot and rubble behind it so can be a messy job. Have you moved the hearth? If there is no carpet under there you may have to replace that too.

Just bought this place and previous owners didn't update much from the older owner they bought from in 2017. I can't imagine there is any flooring under the hearth.

If we opened it up and found a nicely.tiled.fireplace then I would be torn but there are two other fireplaces that are visible and one usable so it would have to be very lovely to stay.

My other thought was shelving within the chimney space...

I think if you have a bit of DIY skill you could do it yourself. I had similar and it was easy to remove the wooden surround, tiles and hearth. I then blocked it up, did a bit of plastering, put a vent in and have now filled the space with logs just to look decorative. The hearth (plinth) came up easily and left the old slab underneath which I just carpeted over.

Any builder or perhaps handyman would do this for you if you don't fancy it.

It’s worth checking what’s been done with the chimney stack. If it’s been capped off you may want some sort of ventilation brick somewhere so it doesn’t get damp inside.

Agree it’s basically a cosmetic job so any handyman or general builder.

Will get all the chimneys and fireplaces checked before doing anything. Is this a chimney sweep or a chimney specialist? The chimney stacks need attention on the roof with pointing and render.

@SeaAndStars that looks great!

Feels out of my DIY skills league but it won't be the first job so maybe I will develop some abilities along the way.