Removing a fireplace, a question or two.

[Bm101]

Again, thanks chaps.
I like the look of yours Marineboy. I 'm hoping that I can get a clean enough finish to get away without reinstating a surround but I've done enough work on old houses , mine and in the past other peoples to have a fairly calm vision of all the different scenarios removing mine might reveal! On the right hand wall, pic below, it looks to my untrained eye that there was once a wall (no extended living rooms when this house was built), then no wall and corresponding lintel, then another wall and a door, then no door. As a young fella I worked as a semi skilled labourer, no training but bright enough to follow the decent trades around, to get off the mixer and tag along stealing various skills with none of the expertise of the old hands. As a diyer, I'm skilled enough to do most jobs but know enough to know what not to do. Mostly.
Thanks again Eric, forewarned is forearmed. I'll look into the poly spray. Is it different from the stain barrier type paints? If so I might paint on a good few goats of thick pva, use the poly spray, get it rendered and skimmed then use a spay on stain/damp barrier paint as well before starting to paint.
Sorry to be a pest.
Just got back from a day or two in Arundel with some friends and a port hangover and dragged the sds out the shed ready for the morning, and a WHOLE lot more dustsheets and polythene sheeting.... :| Up and at 'em!

(edit: the stairs run up the other side of the wall, there's a toilet, with it's own door in the back room under them now. I guess this toilet was just storage at one point with access from the front room.)

 

[Eric The Viking]

Stain blockers, AFAIK, actually are polyurethane-based.

Hope it goes well.

 

[Bm101]

Thanks Bud.

 

[Jacob]

.....
A wood burner will set you back a good 2 grand with fitting (now mandatory) by a registered fitter.

Are you sure? Registered as what, and where?

 

[RogerS]

..... Be careful you do not disturb any breast supports........

Would that be under-wired ? :-"

 

[RogerS]

.....
A wood burner will set you back a good 2 grand with fitting (now mandatory) by a registered fitter.

Are you sure? Registered as what, and where?

Document J. It's all there.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

They do not have to fitted by a registered fitter, but you must get building regs. compliance if you (or anyone unregistered) fit them - and according to my neighbour (a builder) who has just gone into all this, the building inspectors are notoriously fussy as they themselves are not 100% certain of every condition, so tend to either refuse or seriously over specify. He sold a perfectly good second hand stove as he didn't have the paperwork for it and couldn't get a licensed fitter to fit it without it (and didn't want to go down the building inspector route).
My little multifuel stove was nearly £1200 with £1200 of flue, without the fitting (about £400 in a bungalow).

 

[Marineboy]

If it helps to have a price comparison, my stove is a DG Ivar, highly recommended by the guys at stove fitters, and IMO is a quality piece of kit, beautifully engineered, cost £900. I have completed the opening myself, lining with hardiebacker, levelled the hearth and finished with granite tiles (the right dimensions as per part J of building regs), flue being supplied by the HETAS fitter who is charging £900 overall.

 

[Bm101]

Right so. A bit of a progress update
Took off the overmantel, no straps of any kind. Wacked the SDS into gear and took half inch off above it. Eased off like a goodun. I tossed it lightly around the room for a while like a feather to demonstrate my inhuman strength before laying it flat somewhere a bit out of breath.
So far so good.

Next bit not quite so good. The next steps in Eric's plan were to take out the decorative and functional lintels but they were epoxied to each other and the side pillars. Dammit. Right. Hmmm.... Bit of hoo hahhing and I cut around the pillars, still no ties, knock out the plaster off most of the inside at the tops, steady as she goes now and ever so gentle prise a bit here, a bit there.... And we're in. Bosh. Lay it all down in one lot on some cushions on the floor. It was little more fraught than that but only because I'm on my own. The cast grate is fine.

Thanks again Eric, made a massive difference knowing the steps.

The problem I have is getting the thing moved. I don't trust the epoxy to hold together lifting it from the middle (on my own) because all the weight of the pillars will be now be against the joint. Might have to wait for the Mrs to get back so we can lift a leg each to keep it all together. Be a shame to lose it now. Then again it's going to be a shame if she finds out I've used the sofa cushions as Fireplace props. Ahhh the indecision. Brickwork behind doesn't look to bodged on first impressions. So I took a photo to show a bit of progress on here.
It was then I noticed I had unearthed a Terrible and Ghastly Discovery. See if you can spot it in the next picture.

Caught up in the relief of not having knackered the surround I didn't notice at first. I grabbed a torch and ran over to take a closer look. My worst fears were realised when I shone the torch up into the sooty blackness...

On the plus side I now have a huuuuuuuge sack of toys to give the kids. Win some, lose some!

 

[Marineboy]

I was looking for something like a dangerously insecure lintel supporting the entire weight of the house so took me a couple of seconds to spot it - a real laugh-out-loud moment - excellent!

 

[Eric The Viking]

I think you won that one -- for all foreseeable Christmases!

Blackmail might be the best way to 'monetarise" that discovery (start with NORAD, possibly).

On a serious note, If you have some boards that would stretch across the back (chipboard would do), I'd try to arrange some softwood blocks to the outsides of the bottoms of the pillars, and strapping round the lot, so that they stay in the correct relationship and don't snap the lintels when moved around. Once it's trussed up (like a turkey), it'll still be heavy and awkward but not so fragile. Beware twisting, such as an uneven lift on one side only. That will cause it to separate at the glue line, but given it's epoxy, I wouldn't predict which would fail - stone or glue.

Well done so far. FWIW, I think it's repro, and probably slate (which would explain the black coating, although it will polish nicely). It may well have been supplied thus glued, as that would make it easier for DIY fitting (unless you know the knack).

It's still undamaged, so it's still got some value. Worth continuing to treat it as gently as poss.

 

[AndyT]

I don't believe it!!

=D> :ho2 =D>

 

[Bm101]

Bit daft, sorry.

That was my thoughts Eric. Got a couple of old pallets handy. Ratchet strap it all up. I waited til the Mrs got home and its leaning up against the wall. Also got the fire back out in one piece and got more of an idea on whats behind. Crack on tomorrow.