DIY Uncovering of covered-over fireplace/brick work
I posted a query here about my fireplace, and got responses in the vein of “call contractor x”; and ” yes it can be done.” My question now (and actually then) is actually more along the lines of what was most likely used to coverup/hide the fireplace and brick work; and would it be mad…
I posted a query here about my fireplace, and got responses in the vein of “call contractor x”; and ” yes it can be done.”
My question now (and actually then) is actually more along the lines of what was most likely used to coverup/hide the fireplace and brick work; and would it be mad to start do some exploratory chizzeling away at what’s there to uncover the bricks, and opening?
BHS, more and more questions. I’ll ask my downstairs neighbor for access to take a photo. I hope this doesn’t become prohibitively expensive…isn’t it possible that at some point in the 1940’s or 1950’s, or even more recently, the all brick fireplace (what exists downstairs) was simply closed up with plaster, or some other material? Is there any way of predicting how messy this will be?
Depressed now…
I ask because many of the fireplaces I’ve seen in brownstones look like the one in today’s rental of the day, which has no exposed brick. If it’s of this style, I think it would make more sense to think of adding the missing mantle pieces onto the plastered chimney area, rather than removing the plaster to expose the brick which might not be intended to be seen or might not be in good condition. How you want to handle the firebox filled-in opening is another question. I’m guessing that opening it up would be messy and reveal something that would need work, so it might be worth considering just painting that area a dark gray color or cover it with a traditional decorative metal cover. This is based on the assumption that the fireplace will be decorative, not operational.
what does the intact downstairs fireplace look like? Is any brick exposed on the outside (not the firebox)? Or is it marble, slate, tile, or some other material? what era/style is your house?
Or creosete.
Mopar, thanks. The fireplace downstairs is intact, which suggests, I think, that this one was plastered up fairly recently. Coal ash? OY…
Be careful. You don’t want to hurt the masonry in any way. Also the inside will be filthy and you will have dust and coal ash everywhere.
Sometimes people put an asbestos board in, then plastered over. So be careful of that also.
Why not call up that guy everyone recommends and let him have a look? He won’t charge you for a quote.
Thanks. Interesting. By “chiseling parallel to the masonry, I’ll assume you mean, “as vertical as possible”? The fireplace downstairs looks pretty good; hope I find the same….
Sorry I missed your initial post, but I’ll try to answer anyhow.
Using a flooring chisel you should be able to knock off the plaster smeared onto the brick. Some may come off in large chunks, once you are hitting the chisel with your ball peen hammer almost parallel to the masonry.
You may encounter patches that are much harder, that are usually repairs made over the years.
The real question is what to expect once you remove the plaster. Brick, beautiful brick. Well, maybe.
These are surfaces that were never made to be shown. Do not be surprised to find old large holes that are patched with random debris. I would say your chances of encountering this is better than 50-50.
Most older buildings were made into rooming houses at some point, cold water flats. the kerosene heaters or gas burners were vented through big holes into the flues.
All is not lost, but expect to have to repair these holes and funky sections with matching, old brick. Then you probably will have to point the joints. the old mortar will crumble and look terrible unless you point.
So the long and short of it is – it’s pretty easy though dusty and messy to remove plaster. Fixing the surprises requires some masonry skills.