Homes with lots of bedrooms and little else, tend to restrict themselves as rental investments. However, if you want to broaden your home’s market appeal, then it’s important to maximise the available living space.
Some things to consider:
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A fireplace with a timber surround is usually fixed to the wall by screws attached to timber battens in the wall behind.
Safely removing the timber surround can be achieved by following these steps:
• The screws fixed to the timber battens will be concealed by filler or paint. You need to uncover these screws.
• Once all the filler or paint is removed - undo the screws.
• The timber surround should just lift out of place.
• Remove the timber battens in the wall.
A cast iron surround fireplace can be removed as follows:
• Most fireplace surrounds are held in place by screws on either side. These are fixed through metal loops and are concealed under the plaster. Carefully remove the plaster and unscrew from the wall. To find the metal loops or lugs as they are sometimes called, you could use a wall detector.
• Cast iron surrounds tend to be very heavy - so ensure that you use a plank of timber wedged between the surround and the floor. This should ensure that it stays in place when you remove the screws. Alternatively, you may want to get a couple of friends to keep a hold of it while you do the unsrewing.
• Once you have removed the screws you may have to carefully lever the surround from the wall by using a chisel or such like.
• The thing to bear in mind about cast iron is that it is very brittle. Gentle levering and pulling are the order of the day.
• Some fireplace grates are attached to the surround. You can usually unscrew these from the surround if you wish - although you will more than likely want to sell the grate as one piece with the surround.
