Fireplace Recovery--Difficulty?
I live in one of the row houses on Lincoln Pl. between 7th and 8th Aves. The unit downstairs has an exposed fireplace, but all I have is a 4-5″ Ridge of cement or plaster where a fireplace, and column of brick used to be. Just how hard would it be to uncover whatever material…
I live in one of the row houses on Lincoln Pl. between 7th and 8th Aves. The unit downstairs has an exposed fireplace, but all I have is a 4-5″ Ridge of cement or plaster where a fireplace, and column of brick used to be.
Just how hard would it be to uncover whatever material is covering the brick (and actual fireplace)?
For bonus points, I understand the fireplace in and chimney in question used gas(?). Just what was a gas fireplace used for; or was it coal?
All suggestions/answers appreciated….
Your description sounds like what we had in our house. The opening to the fireplace, which probably burned coal originally, had been bricked up and it and the rest of the chimney breast had been plastered over. The masons who were doing work on our wall opened it up, and then put metal angles over the top to carry the load of the bricks above, so they wouldn’t come tumbling down – something to consider in deciding whether you want to tackle this yourself.
Since you put rectangle in quotes, it sounds like you already know it might not be. The top of the opening in ours was rounded.
From what I’ve been told, first coal and later gas were the most common fuels in fireplaces in New York after the early 1800s. Gas inserts and gas logsets are contemporary options to wood-burning fireplaces.
HI. No, no, just a decorative recovery. Yes, there must be bricks underneath; just trying to figure out what material was likely used to cover it and how it’s best removed. And how to figure out where the “rectangle” of the actual fireplace starts and stops; a sonar/ultrasound/xray? 😉
If it was for coal (not very deep), it’ll have to be built out to accommodate wood. I would also say Manny La Salle…
I’m confused–you think there’s a fireplace covered in plaster or you’re wondering what work would be required to rebuild what might have been there but has been partially removed? Mopar’s advice about taking a look at neighbor houses is good–if you can find an intact fireplace in the same location in another house you can get an idea of what could be underneath and what might be missing (because it is too big to fit in the area that remains).
First, figure out what was there. Have you seen what your neighbors have? Are you sure there was a fireplace there? It’s unusual for the whole chimney to be removed — expensive if done correctly and dangerous if not.
Second, if the chimney breast is there and you want to install a mantle, Manny will do it very reasonably. He quoted me $1,000 to remove a wooden mantle and replace it with a slate one (more difficult, since slate mantles come in pieces and must be joined together.
If you want the fireplace to work, that is a whole other matter. You probably want to leave that to a professional like Manny unless you want to burn the house down or risk the chimney collapsing. That could run you $2,000 and up, depending on what needs to be done.
I was hoping I could do it myself…sigh…
Get Manny LaSalle to come in and take a look. Lots of recs for him in the archives of this site.