Putting an open fireplace into a chimney breast - is this a mad idea?

3 years ago

We are currently renovating our first house! As you can see on the floorplan, there is a chimney breast in between the front and back bedrooms (bricked up and plastered over on both sides). I thought it would be cool to add a fireplace to the back bedroom (this will be my daughter's room and I want to make it basically a built-in doll's house!)
My partner agrees that this would look good and add a feature to the room but he thinks it will be really expensive and difficult to do. Does anyone have any idea if he is right? We have a plasterer coming in a few weeks anyway as we have had a rewire so if we are going to do this now would be the time!

Comments (4)

PRO
Kingfisher Designs
3 years ago
Difficult? probably not. Messy? oh yes! It will also depend on if you want the fireplace to be usable, and what type of fireplace your thinking off. Its perfectly possible that the fires were originaly smaller ones and stagered next to eachother as they're for bedrooms, it also probably has a flue coming up from below in there. You wont really know untill you open it up but be prepaired for a whole lot of soot and smell for a while as you clean it out.
minnie101
3 years ago
I had a fireplace installed 18 months ago. I’ve just checked the invoice and labour to do the same as you was £450. If I’d wanted a flue etc it would have been dearer but I guess you don’t. Surrounds obviously differ greatly on price if you’re having one? I assume you want a hearth though? Mine is slate and was £320 but it’s 56 inches wide so pretty large.

They didn’t really make a mess with mine. I can’t remember why now but the fire was meant to be done before my floorboards were restored but wasn’t...anyway no damage to soft pine boards and mess definitely wasn’t unbearable but maybe I was lucky!

I would just be a little concerned about the flue as Kingfisher mentioned. Your cost may well be more if you need to open up the builders opening to fit a dolls house.

I’ve copied a link as I’m sure it will explain better than I ever could

https://www.thestoveyard.com/faqs-home/what-is-a-builders-opening
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Your room looks large and lovely but with an entrance at one end and a fireplace at the other can seem a bit long. Firstly take EVERYTHING out. This will show the room in the best advantage and get rid of clutter. Only put back things you absolutely love. I would put two sofas or a sofa and two chairs (they don't have to be a suite) in front of the fireplace OR get a solid coloured L shaped sofa as it seems you are orienting the room toward the TV. You could then put a nice rug under a light-feeling coffee table (maybe glass and wood to pick up your chimney breast) in the middle. This would allow you to get rid of the multiple small side tables. I would lighten up the alcoves alongside the fireplace, either paint or light wallpaper. Get a proper piece of furniture for the TV to stand on. TV stands are ugly. There's lots to choose from. Try IKEA. Take down the heavy curtains and put in Roman blinds in a print fabric you love (try to find one with at least 3 colours) and coordinate with your rug. You could then use colours in this to make/pick throws and pillows. At the end near the door you could put in a small table and your rocking chair and make it like a separate area for music or reading with a nice standing lamp. Get some inexpensive drum light shades to update the lighting and put in another standing lamp by your sofa, as mentioned above, and lower your pictures to eye height. Good luck!
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keiblem
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I have opened up four large bricked up fireplaces. All four had varying degrees of messiness. The worse filled 90 bags with soot, dead birds, enough nesting branches to make up a tree, bones, insects, lots of insects, bricks and lime from inside the chimney and mystifyingly a piece of tombstone dated 1726. The least messy was marginally less messy with 35 bags. I have also removed wall vents in bedroom fireplaces and found them rammed with soot, insects, dead birds etc again filling bin bags in double figures. They were all worth doing not least because I now know they are structurally sound and there is good air flow to prevent damp. But they were not tasks for the faint hearted and I made sure to get professional advice before starting and got a chimney sweep in to clean them out and check them with a CCTV camera.

What I am saying is be prepared. Be aware that above that fireplace is a lot of weight. Do you know if it is structurally sound all the way up to the chimney pots? Does it have a suitable sound lintel in the hearth? Have you sought professional advice? If you tick all those boxes then proceed but first empty the room if you can and tape up the door. Wear suitable PPE, gloves, hard hat and an all important PP3 face mask and have lots of bin bags! If you plan to have a real fire then it will need to comply with Building Regulations.
Finally I cannot stress too strongly that this is one job where professional advice and or help is highly recommended.
Carole Breetzke
3 years ago
I was think of opening our chimney breasts too for a stoves and then I saw how much they fine particule pollution they produce. so not nice if you're in a city and not nice for your own health in a bedroom. Now we are planning to install an Ethanol fireplace. Much less polluting, less messy to install, cheaper to install, easier to maintain

Putting an open fireplace into a chimney breast - is this a mad idea?

Comments (4)

Kingfisher Designs

minnie101

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