# removing brick around kitchen/fireplace



## kabergeron (Mar 8, 2011)

Hi i'm wondering if anyone has any ideas about the best way to proceed with removing brick in the kitchen area/fireplace area (it is a woodburner stove, not an actual fireplace) should i just attack with a sledgehammer and redrywall the drywall that is behind it, or is there a better way?:wink: i have some electrical in this brick also. i also have a heating duct. 
thinking of hiring a contractor just so it will get done faster. any ideas? any input appreciated!


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## Leah Frances (Jan 13, 2008)

A picture and some more explanation would help us help you.
- What's your goal?
- Is the wood-burning stove staying?


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## Bud Cline (Mar 12, 2006)

Need a picture of this one.

Don't get in a hurry just yet.


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## kabergeron (Mar 8, 2011)

ok let me go take a couple pics. will upload soon, i could use the advice!:help:


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## Leah Frances (Jan 13, 2008)

We're very good at helping. We just need sufficient information.


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## kabergeron (Mar 8, 2011)

*pics*

ok, here are some pics.
the old country stove / oven / and wood burning stove all are going also. 
we are looking to have it look more modern, and consider the brick and these iron pieces quite dangerous for our little guy who is quite the adventurer. (their is currently carpet foam velcroed to the brick on the floor)
it is about 8 feet, floor to ceiling in kitchen behing stove and around oven, and then adjacent in living room, about 5 ft long on two sides going about 5' high with a base for the fire stove. 
thanks for any ideas. is this a DIY? or hire a contractor? it seems like a couple guys could clean it up in a day, i'd like it done like that quickly so all dust is removed and cleaned up and redrywalled or maybe the same drywall but i figure it would get damaged, so we can resume living in the area. we'd also like to extend the door way between the two rooms while we're at it , from 29.5" to 48" so we can put in french doors. that is where two electrical outlets and a switch are, i figure it shouldn't be difficult to just have them moved further in the studs where the wall will be?


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## Bud Cline (Mar 12, 2006)

Looks like a lot of brick. Is there some kind of a foundation supporting that mass?


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## kabergeron (Mar 8, 2011)

well this is kind of in the middle of the house. the electric stove is on a brick base about 4 inches high, then just a small counter before the oven section, i think all the brick is decorative and has drywall behind it best i can tell. house is over a crawl space, as i recall from being down there, i don't believe their to be anything special supporting the brick itself. and i wouldn't think the brick is supporting anything. i guess our concern would be the extending of the doorway if that is supporting something. :laughing:


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## Bud Cline (Mar 12, 2006)

Maybe I should ask...
Is this "real" full dimension brick. Or is it some type of a "thin-brick" application. It looks like the real McCoy from here.


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## kabergeron (Mar 8, 2011)

*dimensions*

brick measures about 3 " wide by 8 to 8 1/4 " long. i don't think it's a fake brick, lot of mortar in between.


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## Bud Cline (Mar 12, 2006)

> i don't think it's a fake brick,


I don't either.

Do you have any big hammers? I mean like a 3# or 5# sledge?
If your serious about this, you could go to whacking on that corner and see if you can loosen-up a few brick to see what's there. Don't go too far.

If you proceed...start at the top and work down of course.


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## kabergeron (Mar 8, 2011)

i don't have a sledge but was thinking of getting one to tackle this. 
reason for contractor i think would be speed, and not sure what to do with heating duct or electrical. and to re-drywall.:huh:

i've done most of the home improvement since we bought the house, but i think this project might be one worth paying for if the price is right. not sure what this job would go for, will have to get a couple quotes, would like it done asap. :thumbup:


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## Bud Cline (Mar 12, 2006)

It's going to be a lot of work actually. Bunch of dust too.


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## ferris13 (Sep 25, 2009)

I used a wide mason chisel (they have some that have a hard plastic hand guard, jic you miss...ouch) and mini-sledge when I removed a few courses off my fireplace. 

I set the chisel under the lip of the brick and swung upwards. Of course I had a better startig point given it was a mantel and not bricked to the ceiling. I was able to remove one course at a time and it was very manageable. 

With the chisel you can better manage where the break will occur instead of just swinging away with a sledge. I would be worried about moving the wall and cracking the drywall joints etc of anything that may be adjacent.


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## Leah Frances (Jan 13, 2008)

Don't forget to plan for disposing all that brick and mortar. Chances are, you can't just put it out with the trash. Salvage the bricks? And use them in your yard?


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## epson (Jul 28, 2010)

Yeah if you use a brick chisel and a 5# hammer remember to wear safety glasses and work gloves. This is probably the easiest and most manageable way for a do it yourselfer to do the job without making a big mess. Just make sure you either have a dumpster on hand to dispose the brick or have another use for it somewhere else like edging around your path or garden etc. 

The bulk of the demo you can do yourself and save $$ but if your not comfortable with the rest well at least it will be all open for the proper trade to give you a quote on what needs to be done when everything is in the open.


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## ferris13 (Sep 25, 2009)

fyi - I took the brick to a concrete crushing facility near me. They used to charge me $10 bucks. This last time I went, there was no cost to dump some concrete I had from a basement bathroom rough in. 

Worth checking into.


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## Leah Frances (Jan 13, 2008)

ferris13 said:


> fyi - I took the brick to a concrete crushing facility near me. They used to charge me $10 bucks. This last time I went, there was no cost to dump some concrete I had from a basement bathroom rough in.
> 
> Worth checking into.


LUCKY. At our Solid Waste Facility all construction debris 58$/ton 5$ minimum for residents. It's not super pricy (I've maybe spent $600 in the last 4 years) but it's the 35 minute drive to the landfill that kills me.


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## DexterII (Jul 14, 2010)

Forgive me if I have missed something, but I have looked through the posts a couple of times, and am still wondering. Where does the chimney from the wood burner lead? Where is the furnace stack? Do you have a brick chimney extending above your roof line? What do you have in the attic above this area? My point is that, for the most part, I agree that the brick was extended along the wall as part of the interior decor, but is some of it also functional? If it is in fact all decoration, a masonry chisel, heavy hammer, heavy gloves, and safety glasses and/or goggles, as Epson descibed, will work fine. Once you get a few of them loose, it moves along much better. I would also set up something to flying debris, and at least some of the dust, such as sheets of plwood or OSB, a tarp, or even some heavy plastic would help.


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