Digging out a bricked in fireplace - Novice DIYer

[palacemonkey]

Oh wise mumsnetters (and their lovely DH's) please can someone tell me what's next??

I've started to hack away at the plasterboard on the chimney breast that has been bricked up (1908 house with chimney breasts everywhere). It appears to have cement underneath the plasterboard.

Now my questions - there is a vent brick (you know the ones with holes in them) so there is at least one brick... would the rest be solid cememnt or is it just a layer of cement before I get to the bricks (for extra strength I'm assuming??)

I don't want to go any further if it's solid cement but if it's bricks underneath, I'll keep digging.....

So please help a novice DIYer!

TIA

Hi, hard to say until you dig further! I think it's likely to be brick - difficult to block up the hole in the first place with cement, surely - it would have slid out of the fireplace?

Keep digging, please. We have a 1890's house and the fireplaces really make it. They were awful 1960's and 1980's ones when we first arrived.

Makes a terrible mess, though. At some point you might regret what you have done, but just keep going...

That's what I was thinking - and it's really this weekend to do it (or at least a good chunk of it) as I have no DS until Monday... I'll just suck it up I think, and get on with it! Eeeeek!

I know what you mean about the mess.... it's amazing really!!

I'd imagine it'll be bricks, then a thin layer of render/plaster.

The only thing you need to be careful to do is work from the top down.

I once did what you did only to find that the lintel over the fireplace was broken so the whole chimney breast would have slid down if we hadn't put a support in pronto.

That was v unusual, though and I think that the effort and mess will be worth it when you have a proper fireplace in.

Sorry, what I meant by working from the top down is check that the lintel is intact before removing the bricks below it.

Let us know how you get on.

So... I totally chickened out! I envisaged me knocking out some bricks and the whole house collapsing around my ears. So FIL is coming over on Monday to do it - he did the same thing with 2 fireplaces at his house, so he knows what he's doing (I hope!)...

Instead I spent a lovely gardening and putting a bbq together (except I can't figure out the hinges on the lid... will get FIL to look at that too!!

Thanks so much for advice for this big fat chicken

pmsl

Well I'm still glad you're going to get it done.

Update: So FIL came over on Monday night to drop off DS and after about half an hour of banging and drilling, I have a lovely fireplace! It's exactly what I wanted.... lovely old red bricks (the sort that people pay a fortune for if they are 'distressed'!).

When I get home (should really be doing work! woops!) I'll try to put pictures on. Thanks for all your help

Ooh, lovely, glad you're pleased with the result.