Staffbull coughed up some electrons that declared:

On 19 Oct, 21:00, Tim S wrote:
Staffbull coughed up some electrons that declared:

Hi, I have unbricked a fireplace I bricked up 6 years ago. I would
like to ask whats needed to fully reinstate it, it will be solid fuel.
used occasionally.
at the moment I have a 18" X 24" hole in the wall, do I just require
a concrete fireback thingy with sides? or do I need to install a
damping type thing?
I will be having it swept before use obviously, chimeny was in use by
previous owners, red brick and unlined. I dont see the need for going
to the extent of lining it as it has been used for 40 years without
and thats how they were constructed.
thanks

Aside from all the other good advice, might be worth doing a smoke test.

I just exposed the brick on my chimney (the unplastered bit under the
upstairs floor). I noticed the mortar wasn't so great - looked like some
small gaps between some of the bricks. Doesn't matter for me because I'm
going to line mine for a stove, but if you are going to use the chimney
as nature intended, it might be a good idea to verify it doesn't leak.

Cheers

Tim

thanks, will do, the sweep should be able to do this I would have
thought?

He might.

They do:

http://www.chimneysweepsltd.co.uk/smoke.htm

That's not a recommendation BTW - just what google pulled up.

Either that, or lob one of these in the fireplace:

http://www.tooled-up.com/Product.asp?PID=882

The difficulty is I suspect you'd need to get an updraft going first or
you'll just fill the house with smoke anyway. I guess burning a bit of coal
or charcoal for 30 mins would work, just to get things warmed up.

Cheers

Tim