Opened up my kitchen fireplace - what have I got???

[Seahorse]

I could no longer resist the lure of what might lay behind the hideous plastic 'marble' that was covering my kitchen fireplace in the house we've recently moved into, so have just ripped it off to find this:



I'm rather pleased! It needs a lot of cleaning up and some paint removal but the fruity tile top right is repeated round all the sides.

However, it's not the empty hole I was expecting! What is the metal bit intended to house? There's a flue that appears to go all the way up the chimney (as best I can see with a torch). Here's a closer pic:



If anyone can advise as to what I have, and what I could put in it, it would be much appreciated!

edit: argh! sorry for the pics - please tilt heads to 90 degrees!

[scarey55]

Oh, how exciting. No idea what you could do with it but it looks fantastic. Perhaps it housed one of those exotic looking things that just seem to be suspended in the middle of the wall. Not explaining myself very well, I'll go off and get a picture of what I mean.

Possibly a prime space for a woodburner?

Edit: realised I can't find a decent picture and I don't think it would look right anyway

[shirlthegirl43]

I would suggest getting a chimney sweep in to take a look - he would probably be able to tell what type of fireplace you could put in

[PAULW]

SEAHORSE
Take a page out of the newspaper hold in the fireplace and light it and see if it draws (the smoke goes up the chimney) if it doesn't the chimney may be capped.

[vicky]

I second Shirl's idea - when I opened up my old fireplace the local sweep was very helpful, not only cleaning the chimney and checking safety but telling me I would need to raise the hearth for optimum draw.

[lottie dolly]

ours is like that,it's to house a gas fire,but depends on which make,as sizes vary,a fitter will be able to advise,and as paulw says,it may be caped

[Hashette]

Seahorse

My OH is a building surveyor. He needs more photos, but his best guess from what you've shown there is that someone has put the stainless steel in to make it clean and put an ornamental fire in front of it.

If you want an open fire, carry on hacking out the stainless steel, you should get back to bare brickwork eventually, although what state it will be in is anyone's guess. Don't lay a fire in there, it is likely to distort the aluminium and crack the tiles.

[Seahorse]

It definitely isn't capped - that was the first thing I tested

Hashette - surely they wouldn't have put a flue in if it was to house an ornamental fire? It looks relatively recent, one of those round metal ones with a sort of 'corrugated' effect (I'm sure there's a technical term!).

I certainly wouldn't lay a fire in it as it is but I'd much prefer an open fire or woodburning stove in the end. I'll be dead disappointed if it's just a gas fire housing, lol!

I need a sweep for my other chimney, so I agree that asking him/her for advice before doing anything much is a good idea

[Hilary B]

Small world Hashette. I am married to FRICS, self-employed looking at houses for purchasers (as you can imagine, not much work at present).

seahorse
If it had a gasfire in (quite possible from what coud be seen) then it may have a liner, but one which is inadequate for a real fire. You really need advice from someone who has actually seen it 'in the flesh' and knows about fireplaces.
Do you have a 'stoves shop' anywhere reasonably close?