How can I remove a wood fire surround?

Question

Hi there,

I have recently purchased a house which has a ghastly 1980's fire surround that I want to change, any ideas on how to remove it, I cannot see any screws or any brackets holding the fireplace onto the wall, is there a good chance it could have been glued to the wall. If so is there any way to remove the fireplace from the wall without it ripping the plaster to shreds?

kind regards,

Warren

Answer 1

set fire to it

Answer 2

1

Answer 3

you will have to gently tap the plaster off all the way around the fire place using a 1'' chisel should do the trick then about 1/3 of the way from the top there should be a picture bracket screwed to each side of the fire place and also to the wall, unscrew the ones going in to the wall and then gently prise the fire place away. you could find the brackets first then when you unscrew the brackets you could run a knife around the plaster before prising it off but doing it that way if you don't remove all the plaster that is touching the fire place you could end up pulling half the plaster away depending on how old the plaster is. if you are going to plaster it over when you take the fire place away remember to uni bond the wall first if you are going to cover it over with timber ,plaster board or blocks remember to leave an air vent to the chimney otherwise you will get damp problems .. .. oh yea put some dust sheets down first

Answer 4

search round the inside of the surround, you may find some hidden fixings, if it is glued you could try solvent, but open all doors and window, you don't want to fall asleep on the job. failing that, i think all you could do is, try to get the surround off as gently as possible. try prising a corner with a stiff sharp scraper and working on 1 side at a time. this will minimise the damage to the plaster behind. hope this is help-full and works.. good luck..
just hope they haven't used " no more nails" i took half a wall away with a bathroom suite... oops

Answer 5

Usually two brackets at the top and two at the bottom, look at the paper and there will be slight bulges, stanley knife the paper, remove the screws and brackets, stick the paper back later. If an adhesive has been used, you will have to use a scraper all the way around the edge. good luck.

Answer 6

If you want to start a woodworking project, you need all the necessary information, including schematics, blueprints, materials lists, dimensions etc. That is where Teds Woodworking comes in. The plans are clearly drawn and there're step-by-step explainations of how the plan should be done and put together. Go here https://tr.im/zxv1W

There are several other sites whose collection of plans have the dimensions totally wrong without any indication of parts lists, material lists or the tools needed. If you're one of those people who have bought plans like this in the past, Teds Woodworking will change your perception.

Answer 7

if brackets/fixings are covered by plaster the only way to locate them would be to use a chisel and brake the plaster off all the way around,may be not on the top but definately on the 2 sides.your chisel will hit the bracket and you will know.

Answer 8

The holding plates are usually under the plaster around the edges you need th carefully score around with a sharp tool like a screwdriver etc..

Answer 9

most fire place surround have fixings on both sides between 6 to 10 inches below the mantle shelf ..they are normally buried in to the plaster ...run a blade down the side of surround ..you should soon find them

Answer 10

Unlikely it's just been glued. More like somebody has done a neat job of disguising screws, especially if it's painted rather than stained and varnished.