Fire Hearth Removal
Fire Hearth Removal
Removal experts are needed when a homeowner no longer finds fire hearths useful – especially when an alternative proves more efficient. Our professionals are highly experienced in removing fire hearths. No matter the material or the size, we’ll make sure to take good care of the surrounding flooring. If you’re a new homeowner and the fire hearth doesn’t fit with the style you want for your home, then call us today.
If you need a total flooring makeover that includes sanding, staining, hearth removal, and so on, the tasks that require under-floor access will be undertaken first, before sanding or fire hearth removal. Rest assured, our professionals will carry out a seamless and flawless job throughout.
Types of Fireplace Hearths
There are different types of fire hearths, categorised according to the materials used to make them. Generally, there are various classifications of fireplace hearths, such as electronic and glass fire boxes made from steel sheets. However, the common ones are those made out of tiles, bricks, stone slabs, and so on. The type of hearth will influence the process and method of removing it. However, it must not be made out of a material that is not fire-resistant; this includes wood, plastic, and so on.
Required Equipment
When removing a fireplace hearth, you’ll need a chisel, hammer or hammerdrill. These can be used for the concrete removal itself. You‘ll also need some plywood or cardboard, so that you can better protect areas around the hearth from scratches and dents from the chisel and the debris that fall off when you’re chiselling away on the hearth concrete. Of course, tape will be needed to tape the cardboard against the surrounding part of the fireplace. You will also need a vacuum cleaner, broom, pan and a brush for any debris, which you’ll have to use cautiously to avoid doing any damage to the surrounding areas of the floor and walls. For your personal safety, wear hand gloves and goggles. The latter are to protect your eyes, as some debris can be sharp.
Removal process
In summary, fire hearth removal is a simple process compared to other flooring processes like sanding, finishing and staining. All you need to do is keep hammering and chiselling away, after taking time to protect the surrounding areas appropriately. So, a step by step description of the removal process will begin by first preparing the hearth, before the actual removal.
You’ll first need to prepare around your home or workplace by rolling back any carpets. Then, cover any furniture in the room to avoid debris scratching them and to prevent being covered in dust. Before this, the chimney should be cleaned out – for which, it is better to ask for professional assistance. Our experts are trained to efficiently clean out any chimney in preparation for hearth removal or replacement. Wear a face mask or goggles to protect yourself from dust.
If the fireplace was laid after the surround, then you should begin by removing that before anything else. With a chisel, hammer or mallet, begin breaking away at the brick hearth, targeting the bond holding it to the conventional hearth beneath. Continue until you see a crack appearing beneath; you should be able to lift it off its base and carry it out of the room. However, this part is a bit tricky, so it’s better to call for a professional. We will easily be able to secure the hearth from the floor. You’ll need to lift it gently off if you intend reusing it. However, if you have no intention of replacing it, you can break off the bricks in chunks and take them out of the room piece by piece.
Btown Will Bring Your Wood Floor Vision To Life!
Removing brick fireplace surround
Generally, to remove the fireplace surround, you’ll have to chip away a thin strip of plastic in order to reveal the lugs, which will then allow you to remove the fireplace surround. However, you’ll need to find where all the lugs are located to be able to detatch the screws from the wall. If you encounter rusted screws, you’ll have to first soak them with oil, so that they can come off when you attempt unscrewing.
Brick hearths are the hardest and messiest to remove, since you have to do so piece by piece, while they also produce the most debris. You can reduce the amount of mess made by removing a little chunk at a time and work to remove the metallic tiles that are used to hold the bricks against the wall. They will come out easier, once the metal has been disconnected from the wall. The work will be neater if at this point, you concentrate on chipping the mortar off gently into a pan.
Removing marble fireplace surround
If you’re aiming to remove the marble surround, you’ll have to leave the chimney or any backing material intact. However, if you’re removing both the surround and hearth itself, you should have followed the processes described above before now. Then, all you have to do is remove the fire, after which you can gently lift off the outer brass part, which will then reveal four screws. Once the screws are off, you will be able to see behind the surround, which you will gently lift off the adhesive holding it. Even when you have no intension of reusing the surround or the hearth itself, you should be careful with the hammer or crowbar, so that you don’t destroy the gas pipe or electrical connection that operates the fireplace.
Seamless finish
Our experts will touch-up the fireplace, so that it will be difficult to know if any work has taken place. If your flooring is fairly old, we’ll use reclaimed wood to fit the fire stand, so that it matches your floor. Once we’ve successfully removed the hearth, we will go ahead to sand your floors, fill gaps and get new boards to fill where the fire place used to be. The driving force at this point will be the need ensure the entire floor has a whole new look, with no trace of the removed hearth.
Duration
The length of time required to remove a fire hearth will depend on the number of people working on it. Usually, we deploy just two of our experts and the process will be over in two to three hours.
Reviews
Sanded lounge/diner/hall floors & finished with a white wash. Totally transformed the house. Ben is a lovely guy & very knowledgable. We love the new look & would highly recommend.
Btown Flooring did an incredible job of all the floors in my house - they look beautiful! Ben's considerable expertise reassured me from the first that this was the company I trusted to look after my original Victorian floorboards. He guided me through the options in a professional and friendly m...
Fantastic service from a very professional team. From quoting through to the final product Ben and his team delivered an impeccable service. Have and will continue to recommend to friends. Ben was able to recommend the best type of finish for our particular wood to bring it back to an amazing fin...
Ben and his team answered a last minute pleas to restore our floor whilst we were away for half term. We came back to find an incredible result which we were delighted with. Ben's communication, clarity on pricing and standard of workmanship all first class. Thank you Btown flooring!
We're delighted with our floors. Ben and his team worked really hard and the floors look great. They are polite and courteous and very good value. We would highly recommend Btown floor sanding.
Ben and his team sanded all the floors in my 1930s house including the stairs, replacing and infilling a fireplace where the chimney breast had been removed. They left the house looking beautiful. It took a lot of work as the stairs were covered in bitumen, some of the floors wre covered in rende...
After contacting several companys to sand and varnish our parquet flooring, these was the ONLY one to reply!! After a short conversation, a date was made. Three guys turned up with lots of equipment and set to work.
I can not praise these guys enough. They were polite, hardworking and very...
35sq m of American oak flooring sanded after 25 years of wear. Great job. Professional, polite and we will use again. Highly recommended.
We employed Ben and his team to sand, varnish and stain our living room and kitchen floors. They did a wonderful job. They took plenty of time ensuring that we were happy with the shade of our stain - what Ben doesn't know about wood and how it will react to a stain isn't worth knowing! So please...
We contacted Btown flooring after a few other local companies let us down. And thank goodness they did, because we fell in the hands of a highly capable and professional team! We had taken the carpet out of two bedrooms, the landing and the stairs. The floor boards (more than 100 years old), were...
Ben and his team did an excellent job on our wooden floors. They were polite, responsive and professional throughout, from the initial request for a quote, right through to the extra visit after the job was finished to repair (free of charge) a scratch that we had accidentally caused to the new s...
Ben and his team sanded and varnished our downstairs living areas and hallway. They were very polite, respectful and Ben took as much time as was needed to make sure everything was done to a high standard as well as being happy to explain all aspects along the way as well as allowing us time to m...
I cannot recommend these guys highly enough. In fact I was so pleased I sent pictures to the rest of my street to recommend them!
They kept me informed at every step of what they were doing. They were super family friendly, working around the kids after school, which is amazing.
The...
BTown have just completed 3 days of sanding/renovating our wooden floors. We are absolutely delighted with the finished job. The work was carried out in a timely & organized manner with minimum disruption. Ben & his team were polite & respectful. Couldn't have wished for a better experience. We a...
Ben and his team did an amazing job of sanding, varnishing and lacquering our engineered wood floor. It has totally transformed our home and looks amazing. Ben and the team were complete professionals from start to finish, providing timely visits and quote, clear information and they completely s...
