Advice on tidying fireplace brickwork

7 years ago

Hello. We have an old open fireplace that is a little rough around the edges. In the long term we want to put a log burner in but in the short term we would really like to tidy/clean the brick work up. Ive attached an image. Basically we want to remove the bricks that stick out on at the sides so the wall is flush to the bottom rim, so there is a tidy L shape profile. Im a complete DIY novice so i was wondering if anyone knew how much of a big job this was, if its actually something i could do myself, or if anyone had ant other suggestions to what i have said. Thanks in advance.

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Comments (3)

Lauren
7 years ago
Hi Paul,

It looks to me that the bricks on the side are a later addition. They don't appear to match or intersect with the original red brickwork.

I would suggest getting an old blunt chisel/brick bolster and a heavy lump hammer and just knocking these off - I don't think it'll be much trouble and doesn't take an expert.

For the brickwork itself you can try using a firm wire brush to remove some of the black discolouration but it may not make much difference. I know you can get some acids that clean up brick but I don't have any experience with that. Finally I would suggest getting someone experienced in to do the re-pointing which will smarten it up a lot. Since its an old rustic fireplace its worth finding someone willing to use traditional lime mortar.

Hope this helps.
Paul Gardner
Original Author
7 years ago
Thanks for your comment Lauren. I think the previous owner was a bit of an experimental builder, so hopefully these aren't anything structural and will just pop off like you've said. Re-pointing is great idea too.
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Lauren
7 years ago
They're definitely not structural if its not supporting anything and is only sitting up against the fireplace rather than the bricks.

It looks like the bricks below this area are also not integrated either so you may well find when you're feeling more confident after taking off the top lot that you can bash the remaining ones out too so its flush down to the floor.

One thing I did forget to say was make sure you wear large goggles, long sleeves and protect the area around it when doing the demo work!

Advice on tidying fireplace brickwork

Comments (3)

Lauren

Paul Gardner
Original Author

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Advice on tidying fireplace brickwork

Comments (3)

Lauren

Paul GardnerOriginal Author

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Lauren

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Paul Gardner
Original Author