Can I cover up what used to be a fireplace?

AubreyMac

My flat had an old firplace and a back boiler.

In April I got rid of both and have acombi boiler which is now in the kitchen.

The boiler men covered up the hole of what was the fire place with what looks like dry wall.

I want to get this covered by way of plastering over it. However, someone has told me that there needs to be some holes for ventilation. Is this true?

In the future when I have the money I want to open it up and put a tv cabinet there (to house dvd player, games console and put an actual tv above a mantle).

muckybutt

You will need to maintain ventilation to the chimney yes, blocking the chimney off without the correct ventilation will cause damp and staining on the chimney breast.

wallbash

The OP lives in a flat and maybe its a shared and already ventilated , ask those neighbours.

Putting dvd/ console in a disused fireplace is a good idea ( well I thought so)

But Tv above mantle will be to high . Think about removing it an keeping 'boxs low. Eye level ( or even a little lower)whilst sitting in fav chair is the best option

Also you can run the wires from the box's up the chimney to behind the tv, looks much better without the mess of visible wires.

AubreyMac

Thanks, I recall the gas man mentioning ventilation at the time of the boiler consultation.

The fireplace is from the ground up to top of my thigh. When I viewed the property, me and the estate agent got on our tummies to switch the boiler on!

Currentl mantle is about my chest height so a tv on top of that should be ok. It means I can utilise the space where tv cabinet is now. But this is in the future though.

firefox1956

Install one of these to maintain an airflow
http://www.toolstation.com/shop/p84919

srm1

When I did mine, I used something similar to this:
http://www.toolstation.com/shop/p37571
Also available at Screwfix.
http://www.screwfix.com/p/map-vent-adjustable-vent-white-76-x-229mm/9414d

muckybutt

wallbash wrote: »

The OP lives in a flat and maybe its a shared and already ventilated , ask those neighbours.

Chimneys are never shared for obvious reasons !