On Jul 5, 1:20 pm, bp wrote:
Hi,

I want some advice on blocking up the inside of a fireplace.

I live in an old terraced house which has a chimney and fireplace.

I have recently had the chimney wall and fireplace all re-plastered.
I dont have a fire and I dont want one. The fireplace is currenlty
open and it has been plastered inside. I have had it swept.

I just want to keep it like that as a decorative feature. But I need
to block off the inside to prevent soot from falling down into the
fireplace floor. I know I have to keep a ventilation hole

The arch of the fireplace is visible, as is a arch steel lintel. how
can I block off the inside. I have had many thoughts but cant see how
any of them would work.

The plasterer said I could fix a piece of hardboard on the inside,
curved to match the arch, but I cant see a way of fixing this to the
inside. ALso this wont cover the steel lintel. This is currently
very rusty, I dont mind keeping this visible but and I cant see how I
could tidy this up. My preference would be to hide it.

The plasterer did not plaster the edge where the lintel is so
brickwork is visible there.

I tried messing about with some board but cant get it to look right.
Fixing it to the wall is difficult on on side as on the inside the
brickwork forms steps.

Has anyone done/seen anything like this before. I just some some
ideas or an approach really. I am assuming pasterboard is out of the
question as it cant be curved. Arch forming kits are a bit of
overkill for this, and I probably could not plaster the arch anyway.

Many Thanks

Bhupesh

Best thing to do would be to keep the fireplace! - helps keep air
circulation the your house and prevent damp, is a nice feature AND
will add value to your home.. I really cant stand fireplaces being
blocked up, it seems a waste and makes teh house loose charachter.

That said, I've just done the opposite to you and Ive knocked out
fireplaces in my old victorian terrace and restored them... But in the
main bedroom, we didnt really want the fireplace but wanted the
"feature". So I knocked it out and had a similar problem to you. I put
a few strips of batten around the inside, quite high up, higher than
the highest part of the arch and then attached plywood to that, I also
added some downlights to this to create a nice feature effect, it
looks nice on teh old brickwork, which I've painted up.

The ply isnt curved, just plain a flat, but is high enough that you
dont see it. As for the rusty arched lintel, I am going to wire brush
that down, treat it and then paint it with an appropriate paint -
making that part of the feature. Obviously when I knocked out the
bricked up fireplace I was left with rough plaster edges, so I put
beading up the sides, and made mitred beading around teh arch at teh
top and plastered up to that.

I suppose you coudl do a similar thing with hardboard and curve it,
but I didnt see the point in teh extra effort when you dont se up
there if you put it high enough anyway

Tom