Bulging wall on chimney breast

sbird90

Grizzlebeard said:

1: Has the chimney been capped?
2: Is the plastic vent open or closed?
3: Is the "backside" of the fireplace in another room, or external. Either way check the rear wall behind the breast and see if everything is normal.
4: The bulge is clearly over the original fireplace opening so is below the lintel and is unlikely to pose a structural risk.

If 1: & 2: are no, then there might have been an accumulation of damp at some time that's blown the masonry (edit: or caused a wooden frame to swell). There's no sign of damp on the wallpaper and the paper hasn't split which suggests the bulge was present before it was last decorated. If the knuckle rap isn't hollow sounding as per Money_grabber13579's suggestion the plaster is still bonded to the bricks/whatever behind.

4: is reassuring - the house isn't going to fall down within the next year so keep an eye on it and see if anything moves.

The plastic vent is closed I closed it a few month ago because I didn’t want spiders to come in! I will open it to let the air back in! Thank you! 

I can’t check behind as it’s the party wall so the other side will be in my neighbours house haha. 

Thank you that’s reassuring  

pogofish

Is there the possibility of an old back boiler still being in there?

I had this in my 1920s house and the bulge turned out to have been caused by the boiler distorting as it corroded.  I had to pay a fair bit to get the boiler and the old pipework removed then the chimney breast rebuilt.

sbird90

pogofish said:

Is there the possibility of an old back boiler still being in there?

I had this in my 1920s house and the bulge turned out to have been caused by the boiler distorting as it corroded.  I had to pay a fair bit to get the boiler and the old pipework removed then the chimney breast rebuilt.

Oh I’m not sure! Never seen behind, I know there is an old water tanker in the loft and our current boiler is in the cupboard alcove to the left of chimney breast. 

kdotdotdotdot

Do you happen to have taken any snaps in that room in the two years that you've lived there?  Family get-togethers or similar?  You might be able to see the ridge in old photos, for ease of mind.