Fireplace

Tootling

Hi there,

We are buying a house, which is really nice but we want to get rid of the fireplace. It's right where we want to put the TV basically. It isn't a real fireplace, just a surround - there is no chimney and the fire I believe is electric. So in my opinion a totally pointless waste of space in a room that is fairly small too begin with. The current tv placement is at a funny angle to their sofas. So i don't really know how they watch it. Some of the other houses on the street with the same design of house have it in the other corner which makes more sense but we'd rather have it on the wall, centre rather than bunched up.

How much will it cost to remove and fix? My other issue is that of course it'll leave a gap in the flooring. I wasn't planning on re-flooring the place yet. I'd like to in the future but the present floor is fine.

Mr and my OH are DIY-a-phobes. We can put shelves up and fix minor things like filling in holes and light fittings. But whacking fireplaces down and fixing floors probably beyond us! Or at least we aren't confident enough and know we'd do a bodged job.

So, roughly how much would it cost and any tips about patching the floor up? (It is wood-effect flooring, not laminate but I'm not sure what it is actually.) We come from a new build and then from pretty decent rented... So have had little experience beyond filling up the odd crack.

And this new house is fine really and won't need much fixing (well i hope, beyond de-mossing the roof). This is just a cosmetic practicality to be honest.

Maybe getting a new flooring in would be a good idea i guess if we could do it before or stuff is moved in. (Currently in storage as we are staying somewhere temporary due to breaking or side of the chain early.) And we could afford it... But it wasn't something we were planning to afford quite this yet.

Anyway... So, err.. To get to the point:

How much would it cost to remove fireplace ( no chimney just stick to a wall) with electric fire and how to fix flooring?

I've googled but all answers i seem to find assume it is a real fireplace with chimney chute and are about 5 years old.

Thanks in advance.

Silvertabby

Is it possible that the vendors have kept some flooring offcuts that you could use to fill the gap until you redo all of the floor?

Don't forget there'll be a gap in the skirting board as well.

Rambosmum

Could you find an example picture on google so we have an idea of what you mean (or better yet, the right move picture).

If it's just a surround, made of wood or faux marble, they are usually screwed to the wall and should be easy to take off - the actual fire, just unplug and pull out or if wired in an eletrciian should sort it for about £60 depending on where you are in the country. If you need to replaster that should only be £80 - £160 depending on how big a patch. If you put the TV on a stand then it removes the issue of the flooring and skiting board. It's unlikely you'll be able to match the flooring and may have to do the whole room.

eddddy

If you want to delay dealing with the floor and skirting issues, you could try putting a piece of furniture there to hide them. For example, something like...



Then it might just be a case of filling the screw holes in the wall, and repainting.

Or if you stand the TV on the unit rather than fix it to the wall, you won't have as many problems hiding the cables.

aliby21

or mount the TV on the wall over the fireplace, live with the fireplace for now until you are redecorating that room

spendinglikemad

Some good suggestions - it may be that you can prise the surround off the wall (check if it is screwed in) - you may need to do some remedial work to smooth out the wall. A relatively large TV/entertaining unit could then go where the fireplace was - if you want the TV as a focal point of a room - depends on the size of your TV of course!!

Tootling

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Add a https.// or whatever in front of that.

Not sure how good that pic is!

Yes good idea on hiding it with a piece of furniture of course we'd have to find one wude enough. It doesn't sound like it would be too expensive to do at least. Maybe the current owner has done offcuts, i believe he being more practical minded has done most of all work himself. And from what we have seen and surveyor need to a good quality. Maybe we should pay him to take it out.. hehe! No, probably a bad idea...

jimbog

http://photobucket.com/gallery/user/Fishedup/media/cGF0aDovU2NyZWVuc2hvdF8yMDE4MDMwNi0xNTEyMjlfenBzc3Z1ampmZ3cucG5n/?ref=

You could always cannibalise the floorboards under the sofa until such time you do the whole floor

jackieblack

Is it definitely fixed to the wall?
My parents have something similar which is freestanding and just stands against the wall, on top of the carpet.
If they moved they'd take it with them (and there'd be a flat patch on the carpet where it had been standing).

Tootling

I would think fixed. I'd have thought risky to have it freestanding in care it fell over?! It was there before the current owner bought the house and he fitted the flooring around it i would have thought.

We even have the receipt for the thing. About £1000. It's a nice fireplace... I'm hoping that the will be other heat sources in the room. Looking at the other past sold properties all the houses came with this kind of fire and a surround although this one obvs updated since first being built. (1999)

But i hate these affectations to the past traditions. I do like fireplaces... But there is no fireplace. Or chimney so having a fireplace like this seems silly in the modern age when the centrepoint of the room is the tv (sadly... ) not the fireplace.

You'd have thought in 1999 which is hardly that long ago they'd have designed it better!

kerri_gt

jackieblack wrote: »

Is it definitely fixed to the wall?
My parents have something similar which is freestanding and just stands against the wall, on top of the carpet.
If they moved they'd take it with them (and there'd be a flat patch on the carpet where it had been standing).

Was just thinking this looking at the photo - it's entirely possible the whole thing has just been plonked on top of the flooring so no issue there - perhaps some skirting to make good and a bit if filling / painting of the wall behind if needed.