Fireplace surround. Leave alone or take a chance?...
I love the look of sandstone fireplaces. I’ll post a inspiration pic below. The house has beautifully crafted sandstone stumps and the plinth of the house exterior below the weatherboards is rendered sandstone.
What do the Houzz brains think? Is there sandstone below my fireplace render? I think there is but will trying to uncover it make a mess?
It’s a functional wood fire which I love in winter.
Comments (16)
siriuskey
6 years agoRelated Discussions
Paint fireplace?
Comments (13)danka, I had one of those Vulcan oil heaters intstalled in dark red brick fireplace...with a dark stained mantle/ fire place surround across the top and down the sides. These heaters were 'all the go' back in the 60s/70s..whoever had one installed with its oil tank up against the outside wall of the house, the owner of such was considered to have accquired a certain prestiege... and it was a selling point! I can understand your elderly property owner being attached to this heater. They were an excellent clean source of heat and, in my opinion, although inefficient for a whole house, those still surviving are, even now, far cleaner and gentler on the back and arms than are the log combustion heaters that replaced many of them. I weathered one snowy winter in front of that heater vowing I would get a log slow combustion heater. I agonised over removing the Vulcan. It was snapped up quickly when advertised. My heater was set into a corner with just the woodwork around it showing and the red brick which had been built in the fire area to house it, the only 'mod con' in my very old house, and built in thoughtfully....many were not. My first approach was to pick out each brick individually in a mottled soft dusty/pinky/beige colour with the mortar picked out in a soft violety grey and then strip back the surrounding woodwork to a more natural colour..(bearing in mind that all my walls were natural VJs.) It looked good and in keeping with the room colour... As a first experiment, to try to make the brickwork around the heater blend in with the colour of the walls in the room and yet also carry some of the beige of the heater colour....amalgamate the two as if they'd always been like that. My advice to you is to proceed gently at first...in respect for the elderly owner's attachment to the heater which is well founded, and then in..'respect' for this really good heater the quality of which would not be equalled today. Be kind to this old heater...its a good one! Then...if your efforts are not getting you excited....Try getting some cement sheeting and cutting it to fit the surround, do a 'mock-up'...clad it, with something decorative..that will not be affected by the heat rising from the front of the heater and so get discoloured, use something other than straight-edged tiles, something decorative....see what it looks like against the heater and if you like it... simply glue the lot on the exisitng heater surround surfaces with fireproof glue. Hunt around for seconds or remnants...even of crazy pavers....even broken tiles of different colours...make a mosaic...ask the tile retailers...look on Houzz for ideas.....Pressed metal might look good...beaten copper...lots of stuff online for 'camoflaging'.... Don't seem to be able to upload the PIC I wanted to post. You will have to use your imagination! Apologies. Good Luck!...See MoreWould it look weird to half paint this fireplace?
Comments (44)Lightening the mortar will look great and keep those lovely bricks as the feature of the room. Eventually a few other ways to brighten the room could be: lighter coat of paint on the walls & a tall indoor plant or wall art in place of book shelves (if you have another spot for the shelves that is). Gorgeous room - look fwd to seeing the before/after pics when you colour mortar. :)...See MoreToo small for a fireplace??
Comments (31)Hello Jane! I work for an architectural firm (I am a postgraduate architecture student) in Canberra that specialises in small, smart and sustainable homes. Our homes similarly achieve around the 8 star mark - your 8.2 is going to be so comfortable! Fireplaces are a tough one, and I am still torn! If your architect is legitimately across the energy performance spectrum, they will/should have had this discussion with you: in Canberra the heating load required for homes greatly outweighs the cooling load. While they are beautiful and satisfy our comfort and sentimental values, often fireplaces in homes of this performance (7+ stars) are overkill (heating-wise). This being said, I grew up with a wood fire, and love the atmosphere they bring, so it's a tough one! The 'overheating' can be managed through careful zoning and ventilation through your beautiful double glazed windows in 'tilt' mode. Unfortunately furniture layout is the least of your concerns in this situation! In homes of this performance, the building envelope is very well sealed (ie minimal to no gaps connecting inside to outside). As you know, fire requires oxygen intake to fuel the flames. With a fireplace like this, in the centre of the room and (presumably) open, the interior oxygen will be the first to burn. Essentially, a fireplace in a home like this will need an external source of oxygen, or it will go out and leave you all a little lightheaded. This, or extensively open up your home when the fire is burning (which seems a little counter-intuitive). My professional advice is to mirror the lounge room: move the fireplace to area A, with an external oxygen source. Room 'zoning' through clever placement of rugs, dining tables, lounges and half-height joinery can give structure to open plan situations and soften the tendency of these spaces to feel cavernous. Please don't hesitate to ask any further advice - always happy to help!...See MoreThe busiest wall you've ever seen.... :/
Comments (28)Maybe I'm weird , maybe I'm lazy -- I liked that 'busy' look . Even more so after reading what you had to do to change it . And just me , but I find some irony in most people saying the tin didn't suit the period , but then you've turned the fireplace into a book case ! I assume the old air-con was biffed ( i.e. no value ) , and while I do like the new unit , just for my own interest I would have taken the old cover off and painted it a bright gloss red , and done the tin the same . If you don't like red , then go your favourite colour -- yellow or a nice green or blue . If your favourite colour is grey or off-white then I can't help you haha ! If that still looked naff , and you did all the work that you have , personally I would have added some character back in -- I would have 'recreated' the tin area in tiles . IMO even gloss white 150 x 150 would have looked pleasant and added interest without looking too busy , BUT again just me , I would have gone more for a period reddy burgundy , or an emerald green or mottled-toned blue -- I liked the tones in the tiles back in that era ! Obviously , you are happy with what you've done , and you're definitely not going to change it , but just outlining the lines I would have considered ....See Morebigreader
6 years agoI originally thought the house to be 1930s because it has a few deco features but the records show it was built in 1950s. A lot of the ceiling “roses” have deco parts.
The fireplace is unusual but it’s grown on me.
siriuskey
6 years agobigreader
6 years agoThere is indeed a picture rail. I’m a bit worried that making the bottom square, which is already a bit imposing, too much of a feature because the chimney part is quite narrow in comparison.
Open to changing the mirror, the picture is definitely unstyled, so ignore the homewares.
siriuskey
6 years agolast modified: 6 years agobigreader
6 years ago
PRODr Retro House Calls
6 years agoLovely fireplace, but back to the two main questions.
Will removing the render make a mess? Yes, there is no easy, clean way to remove render, and there is no guarantee that the material underneath the render will be in a condition that you would want to live with, without additional finishing. The fine dust will be the worst as it gets everywhere.
Is there sandstone under the render? Based on the age of the house and being of cheaper weatherboard construction I would have thought it unusual to have an expensive, labour intensive sandstone fireplace, unless it was a sandstone veneer on top of structural brickwork, which was commmon in the late 1950's and 1960's.
Art Deco Fireplace Hearth Natural Stone · More InfoHowever you did mention that there are sandstone stumps which are pretty rare, as hardwood, brick or concrete stumps were commonly used. Why would anybody craft sandstone stumps? Your close-up photo does look like it may be sandstone, although it could be where the decorative, textured, top render coat has chipped away from the coarser, base render coat. I am curious to know why anybody would render a sandstone fireplace, and the sandstone plinth below the weatherboard?
I think that the first thing you need to do is to confirm that the stumps and plinth are actually sandstone, as they would be very unusual for a 1950's weatherboard house. I am not sure how structurally safe sandstone stumps would be unless they were broad and shallow, not thin and tall like most stumps.
The curved, upper part of the fireplace is most likely bricks laid as a soldier course, with render over the top, as curved sandstone slab is hard to carve cost-effectively. If the height of this curved part is about 230mm-240mm then it is most likely brickwork. You can also check the recess between the rectangular base and curved top to see if it matches standard brick dimensions.
I would be very cautious about removing the current render as I think that it is less likely there is sandstone underneath, and even if there is sandstone it won't be in great condition being a porous stone which has had render over the top.
Best of luck,
Dr Retro
of Dr Retro House Calls
bigreader
6 years agosiriuskey
6 years agoI agree leave it as is, perhaps adding a large rectangle sandstone hearth would add to it. Sorry you didn't like the mirror idea, it is very Deco I thought it would go with all the pretty things in the photo. I not 3 mirror panels just the front one, I will post a couple of over the top Deco fireplaces cheers
bigreader
6 years agoDr Retro - for your curiosity. Second fire place in the house which supports your brick course theory. And interior of front fence after my elderly Dad misjudged the width of the driveway. Luckily it is coming down anyway.
bigreader
6 years ago
Kate
6 years agosiriuskey
6 years ago
wuff
6 years ago
marie4509