Electric fireplace removal

Troula

Hi all,

We are buying a new house and it has a an electric fireplace in the living room. (i honestly never understood why all houses have to have a fake fireplace here but anyway)
Ideally we would like to get the fireplace and the fake wall removed and wondering if it's possible and how much it would cost.
Any advice or experience with the matter would be appreciated.

The attached photo of said fireplace is from the showhouse.

jmBuildExt

Cant advise on cost, but a question...is it built yet??
I'm assuming if its coming with the fire, the flooring will be in place too?

If its not built - i assume you've asked the builder not to put it in in the first place?
Matching the floor up etc might be a PITA and you might struggle to get anyone to do it.

Troula

jmBuildExt wrote: »

Cant advise on cost, but a question...is it built yet??
I'm assuming if its coming with the fire, the flooring will be in place too?

If its not built - i assume you've asked the builder not to put it in in the first place?
Matching the floor up etc might be a PITA and you might struggle to get anyone to do it.

Unfortunately it's already build.
The house is in a very advanced state so no option to just don't put it.

I never really thought about the floor part to be honest. It is a good point.
We are planning to ask the builder if they can change it (obviously pay for it), just wanted to know if it's even possible.
And of course what a normal estimate for such a change might be and if it will even be worth it.

People put in false fireplaces because without a fireplace a living room will have all the ambience of a Dentist's waiting room. If you remove it you'd better have a good plan as to how you will make it feel warm and inviting.

Alun

Deleted User wrote: »

People put in false fireplaces because without a fireplace a living room will have all the ambience of a Dentist's waiting room. If you remove it you'd better have a good plan as to how you will make it feel warm and inviting.

That's a matter of opinion. I lived in Germany and the Netherlands for 20+ years before moving here and not one place I lived in had a fireplace, and I didn't miss it one bit. IMO the only function a fireplace has is to get in the way of arranging the room exactly how you want it and force you into arranging the furniture in a specific way. It might be OK if you have a huge room, but for smaller rooms it takes up a disproportionate amount of space that could be better utilized for something else.

Troula

Deleted User wrote: »

People put in false fireplaces because without a fireplace a living room will have all the ambience of a Dentist's waiting room. If you remove it you'd better have a good plan as to how you will make it feel warm and inviting.

I'm not from Ireland and never had an issue with having a warm and inviting living room without a fake fireplace.
I can understand if it's real, that's different.

For me you completely mess up with a very functional otherwise wall.
Not to mention you make the room smaller.
I guess different upbringings, and different experiences.

Troula

Alun wrote: »

That's a matter of opinion. I lived in Germany and the Netherlands for 20+ years before moving here and not one place I lived in had a fireplace, and I didn't miss it one bit. IMO the only function a fireplace has is to get in the way of arranging the room exactly how you want it and force you into arranging the furniture in a specific way. It might be OK if you have a huge room, but for smaller rooms it takes up a disproportionate amount of space that could be better utilized for something else.

Exactly that.

jmBuildExt

Assuming its just a partition wall, its definitely possible.
But you never know what you would find behind/above it when you take it out. The builder who built it would be best to advise - i know that you dont always get to talk to someone who cares

As i say... it wouldn't be one of those jobs you would get many ppl queuing up to take on, so they might tend to over-quote.
What type of floor is it? Would you be able to source more of the same.... do it ASAP even if you decide not to go ahead with it in future.

To get it looking right you would probably have to take up 3 or 4 lengths running across the fireplace almost from wall to wall (or back to the last good full length on one side, if you know what i mean), particularly if it is laminate.
Need tidy up whatever electrics are behind there.
Then depending on whats left behind, you'd need to skim the "new" wall or it may not even have boards on it.
The ceiling may need some attention too.

To be honest its probably only a couple of days work, but I'd be surprised if you didn't get quotes startng at 1k - depending where you are in the country.

Its just one of those things where you have to put it out there and get a few quotes.
Are there any builders knocking about the development?... you might be lucky and find someone around to do it.

Alun

Alun wrote: »

That's a matter of opinion. I lived in Germany and the Netherlands for 20+ years before moving here and not one place I lived in had a fireplace, and I didn't miss it one bit. IMO the only function a fireplace has is to get in the way of arranging the room exactly how you want it and force you into arranging the furniture in a specific way. It might be OK if you have a huge room, but for smaller rooms it takes up a disproportionate amount of space that could be better utilized for something else.

I don't live in Ireland.