Blocked up fireplace

[Katie_B]

Hello,
We have recently bought a house and all of the fireplaces upstairs have been blocked up like this. We don't want to use them but at least for them to be decorative!
Has anyone else come across this method before, and any advice for clearing it out please? I have no idea if there is anything structural involved - is it just a case of removing a brick and having a look?
Thanks in advance!

 

[Katie_B]

Boosting this to see if anyone can help

 

[Cubist]

Its hard to make out details but...

The big round thing in the middle is the entry to a flue and suggests that a small wood-burner/stove was previously used. Assuming the flue is no longer required and the chimney has been sealed the flue entry could easily be removed and bricks then used to close the hole left behind. The rest of the fireplace is an old cast iron fire surround with tiled pillars to left and right - the whole thing, and the tiles have been painted multiple times. The paint could be fairly easily removed to take the surfaces back to bare metal and expose the faces of the tiles but care would be needed with the latter to avoid damage. A chemical stripper would be the first and best choice.

The hearth itself looks like tiles, possibly quarry type, painted black but there also seems to be a lot - considerable - of soot stains. These too could be cleaned up and, together with the stripped and cleaned fire surround, could add up to rather nice feature. There are some nice cheap fire screens available that could be used to hide the brickwork but there are other approaches too to make that look more attractive.

Oh and I've just noticed some soot stains below the bottom of the flue entry port and down the brickwork that suggest that rain-water has penetrated to and leaked over the hearth. That may be an on-going problem you must deal with.

 

[Katie_B]

Thank you, much appreciated. The bricks are nearly flush with the tiles, so I am tempted to take them out, as I assume the fireplace itself would be set back (?). I will add to the long list of things to do - there are 4 of these in bedrooms!

 

[LadyArowana]

Not sure if this is a possible concern or not, but when we had the flue for our old has Aga removed there was an asbestos gasket? in there. It had probably been there from ealy 70’s or before.

 

[Cubist]

Thank you, much appreciated. The bricks are nearly flush with the tiles, so I am tempted to take them out, as I assume the fireplace itself would be set back (?). I will add to the long list of things to do - there are 4 of these in bedrooms!

That would be a wise move I think and would be necessary to allow the chimney entrance above to be properly sealed.