Will removing my fireplace devalue the house?

ixwood

I'd say the obvious place for a big telly is in the bay window area. What's wrong with there? One (your) sofa will be straight opposite and it'll feel more natural than looking up at a wall.

The fireplace wall looks a bit close to the opposite wall to me.

ktuludays

so if you found the perfect house you would not buy it if it didn't have a fireplace?

ask yourself this question.

too many tv shows big up fireplaces but imo it's your house, so do what you want.

i took mine out and don't regret it one bit.

blizeH

Thanks, like I said it's 12' from the one side of the wall to the other, good shout on the bay POSSIBLY but it'd mean having the blind closed constantly, and also a sofa would be in front of the double doors into the dining room

gem599

We put in a ventilation vent and plastered it over. We now have a TV unit with a small TV (in comparison to what you guys have been talking about!!) along that wall. We haven't replaced the fire because of the lack of wall space and because there are already 2 radiators in the room!

Becles

We had a fireplace like that in our sitting room. It was grey marble, white surround and an electric "coal effect" fire. The trouble was, the elements were buried deep in the fire and used to collect dust, so everytime you turned the fire on, it smelled badly of burning dust. The only way to clean it was to get the screwdrivers out and dismantle the fire, so consequently it never got used!

We have a big picture window where your bay is (width and height of the room) and the opposite end is open plan into the dining room. There is a huge radiator on the wall behind your sofa.

We removed the fireplace as it served no useful purpose. We bought a radiator cabinet for the big radiator and put a flat screen TV on the wall above that. On the wall where the fire place is, we've got a huge 4 seater sofa with a big mirror above it.

I've never missed the fireplace, but I love the sofa, especially when my whole family is piled on it watching TV - very cosy :cool:

ginvzt

I have another suggestion: what about building a TV stand/cabinet around the fireplace?

The TV stand we got (which is holding our 42" TV) is sort of a very wide U shape if looked from above, with the bottom part being a cabinet where TV stands, and the sides housing small shelves for DVDs. It has a high panel behind to cover all the cables, etc.

I found a picture of what I mean (ours is similar, but not as good looking, as this one - we paid £80, as we got ours from Argos). You could make DVD shelves wide to cover/accommodate the fireplace.

blizeH

Some very, very good suggestions thanks guys! It's nice to have a lot of options I guess, although I fear my plans may now be scuppered!

I took the flooring away from around the hearth, and there's for some reason a deepish concrete base underneath the fire! So I can't just lay down more flooring to cover it up. Sigh

sunshinetours

Personally I wouldn't change it currently. You stated there is some uncertainty over jobs etc and so you may end up selling. You will never get your money back taking out a fire place in a family house IMO

Save the expensive stuff for your dream house so you can stay there and enjoy it!

pimento

blizeH wrote: »

Thanks, like I said it's 12' from the one side of the wall to the other, good shout on the bay POSSIBLY but it'd mean having the blind closed constantly, and also a sofa would be in front of the double doors into the dining room

Our two seater sofa is in front of the double doors into the dining room, but there's enough space to walk around the back. I believe the old fireplace (a tasteful 1970's stone crazy paving affair that wasn't even on an outside wall) is where the telly is now.

blizeH

Thanks so much again guys, really appreciate the input and suggestions! I probably should have named the thread 'Will not having a fireplace...?' because my two options have mostly always been to either remove it completely, or replace it.

I'm looking at this Next Curve Fireplace which is quite nice, but I'm wondering is it okay to have a gas fire directly below a TV? Will the heat damage the TV if I use the fire?

There's only enough room for a 50" to the side otherwise. I think I could possibly go higher if I really wanted, but a 54" or more would look silly next to the oversized monstrosity of a fireplace in there at the moment!