On Tue, 30 Sep 2003 13:44:36 +0100, "ian mayo"
wrote:

Hi all,
We're in a 10 yrs old detached brick house with a coal-fire in the lounge.
The fireplace has a brick chimney, and a capped gas feed about 6" to the
left of the hearth. The current fire itself is "standard" size - around 2
feet across.

My wife and I would like to fit a trendy new wide (panoramic) gas fireplace
from B & Q (£598 down from £1000). This fireplace however has an aperture
of around 3-3.5 feet, here it is:
http://www.diy.com/bq/product/produc...?PRODID=194959

I know I've got to remove my current fireplace, but can I expect there to be
a lintel above the current opening?

And will the lintel be wider than the current opening?

And if I'm going to open up the space beneath the lintel, how much
supporting brick has to be left under either end of the lintel for it to
stay safe?


I'd be really grateful if anybody can help me forward with this problem.

Cheers,
Ian

I doubt the opening in your fireplace is going to be that wide?

How wide is the "chimney breast" from side to side?

I rebuilt mine after removing an old back boiler/solid fuel fire and
the opening is no where near that width.
I would have thought it would involve some engineering to have the
opening that wide and not make the chimney stack unsafe/unstable.

Mark S.