since i no longer have a cossie and got the bmw ive discovered i have too much spare time and i fancied trying a new hobby




need to know when in remove the bricks at the back whats gonna be behind em,,,,,,,, oh and if it will be the neighbours as i dont really like them on that side


seriously though i guess i cant touch the ones on the front and middle due to it holding up the first floor but is seems like theres broken bricks behind there but wanna know if they go all the way to the top !!!!!

 

The bit in the centre will be blocked upto the metal chimney-lead, most probably to stop the draught coming through. They should pull out fine and leave the outer n-shape with a hole for a fire.

 

Something like this

 

The bricks and rubble are just loose fill for the original fire back to fit up against.

They don't usually go much further up the chimney than the height of the front opening.

Watch out when you do it there will be a LOT OF DUST come out.

.

 

them bricks USED to be the chimney thingy i think, there was a curve like a Z shape made of prick pannels

theres deffo no lead either as ive been looking up the chimney aswell and theres no lead

 

No..lead said as in "dog lead"


..not as in lead bullet


The metal part is the "start/lead" of the chimney and used to guide the smoke up and out the chimney, just like an posh cooker extractor fan

 

mine wa brick panels mate,,,, and i know what you mean by lead

 

Yours still looks to be like the pic I posted and you shouldn't have any probs removing those bricks.


*Note: you undertake all DIY at your own risk and cannot sue me if you break a fingernail or worse carrying out this task*

 

well theres small stones and broken brick chips behind one of the bricks,,,,, thats when i stopped removing bricks and though i better get some PRO advice





so i logged in passionford for help

 

Prob just bits of brick to fill any smaller gaps mate..instead of newspaper as it will get into the gaps easier.

 

how high do the fill em up mate ?

wanna ripp em out but bricks are heavy as i live on the first floor,,,,, that lot is just the bricks that was covering the other bricks to make it tidy,,, and that was 4 ikea bags full to take out aswell as the actual fireplace and the 2 concrete blocks for the hearth and base thingy


why do they fill the gaps then ?

is it all the way to the top then ?

 

can't you just cut a hole in the floor beneath the bricks and let the people below sort them out ?

 

Basically Ginge, when they were built they were just big openings where the fire was to sit. These were about 2.5ft high, then from that height the chimeny began and the brickwork 'corbled' over(bricks start to overhang) to form the chimeny flue. Then when built, before a fire went in the back of the fire place was made smaller to suit XX fire size(usually cast iron), then once the brick pannel was built that made it smaller the rear was filled with old bricks and mortar just pushed in by hand so that there wasnt a void for heat to escape....

 

was thinking that,,,, infact im also not sure if we share a chimney as we share plumbing with next door as when i poured concrete down the sink ( as it blocked the toilet before you aski why i was pouring it down the sink) when the dishwasher went off it filled there sink and flooed there kitchen,,,,,,, thats also why we dont get along hence me not wanting to break through to there front room ect

 

you wont share a chimeny flue. It will go up the same stack but not the flue...

 

lee you know what your talking about


whats a flue and whats a stack,,,,,, and can i take out the inner bricks to fit my fishtank or are the bricks going all the way up


OR if that aint gonna work ive for a welsh dresser i can stick against the wall before the missus comes home from the hospital,,,, but times getting on and shes due back REAL soon,,, so i need to know what im looking and sound like i know what im doing otherwise i can see the same thing happening the day me, dancossie and cowboi decided to take the cossie engine apart in the front room due to it being cold outside,,,,, and topgear on at 7 to

 

The 'breast' is the whole fireplace that you see in ya room.
The 'flue' is the narrow passage to the top takes the smoke(this isnt straight it is bent to draw the smoke up
The 'Stack' is the bit on the roof.

You can remove all the loose bricks. You should end up with a hole as deep as the actuall breast....ie the far back of the hole(fire place) should go as far back as the actuall wall in the room(the wall on your pic where the socket is)

It will be as high as where it starts getting smaller on ya pic and as wide as it is at the front...

Dya get me?

 

BTW go staedy as you remove bricks and stuff as old ones can drop from above where they start to form the flue, as these bricks are made thinner to start with when they were shaped with a hammer, and the heat over the years makes em brittle...

 

so does that mean the loose bricks are all the ay to the roof of the room or up to the top of the house

the flue moves forward then goes back to,,,, the hole actually ended where the stamped brick on the right is but that section smashed out when i was hammering the z shaped brick panels,,,,,,, hammer drew back and hit it and the fooker just snapped and fell out

can i remove the breast bricks and install a lintle to make the mouth wider or should i work with what i got first

bet the missus will be WELL pleased with the brick bolster and 4lb club hammer she bought me to do DIY with for christmas when see sees this mess

 

No loose bricks should be up higher than the 'hole' unless they are loose through age...not like the loose ones you are removing...

Without looking at the condition and type of breast i cant say how much else you can remove as it carrys a lot of weight Bal...

 

is that the polite way of saying " first thing go to homebase, buy some plaster board and hide the problem you made"


as thats my plan B ,,,,,, was plan C BUT i had to rule out plan A when i realised that the fireplace wasnt empty behind like i thought

also the way i look at it is,,,,,,,,,, if the first floor caves in just remember that high ceilings are a selling point in london

 

 

can see a flat in north london for sale soon,,,,, 195k for quick sale,,,,, no longer has period fire place but FFS it has underfloor heating aswell as fucking brand new installed central heating

AND LONDON IS 2 FUCKING DEGREES WARMER THAN ANYWHERE ELSE IN ENGLAND !!!!!!,,,,,,, YOU WONT NEED IT PEOPLE


gotta love diy

 

Your poor missus...If I walked in and saw that I'd turn around and walk straight back out again

 

Nah i hate DIYers it makes my body tremble

 

mate diy is fine,,,,,,,,,,,, after i do this im gonna remount my boiler as the location is fucking me off BIG TIME


katie,,,,,,, thats NOTHING trust me compared to what shes came home to,,,,,


but shes gone straight to bed,,,,, so i wont hear anything till she wakes in the morning but by then im gonna be atwork and i can hangup

 

That poor girl...and she seemed so nice aswell..what did she do to deserve you pulling her house apart on the sly

 

ok bad diy

 

its not bad diy,,,,, i like to think of it a a live episode of home a leisure channel


next week im installing a sky light into the kitchen,,,,,,, and at the same time my little girl gets a glass floor to dance on

 

Destroy It Yourself

 

Sounds like you're the next Tim The Toolman Taylor
I went offline at 9pm last night to watch Dracula programme...glad you didn't get into any shit with the missus. You must have a rubbewr mallet t oremove those bricks quietly.

Any updated pics yet mate so we can help you cause more havoc?