In article ,
Mike P mike@askme writes:
Secondly .... I was going to brick it up and plaster over, but we
thought we could make a bit if a feature of it. One offering has been
to build in a wine rack :-)
Any thoughts ?

I opened out and plastered a fireplace. A few tips I could offer...

If it's on an outside wall, the wall at the rear of the fireplace
might be thinner and less well insulated than the walls of the
room. A 1" thick sheet of cellotex or kingspan at the rear will
prevent it being a cold spot which would otherwise likely result
in condensation induced damp.

The flue must remain ventilated top and bottom. Again, if it's
an outside wall, vent to the outside rather than the room, to
prevent the draw losing heat from the room. You could do this
by taking a brick out through to the flue from the outside just
above the top of the fireplace and blocking off from the room.
(Not sure what effect the flue liner might have here.)

--
Andrew Gabriel
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