Cast iron fireplace affixing

They don't call you " Lucky Jack Mc didn't get killed by gas" for nothing

 

I'll definitely heed the safety guidelines, carbon monoxide detector, smoke pellets and all ...

Now it's off to research repairs of coping stones and flaunching (great word!) another job that needs doing this spring.

Thanks all.

 

If you need a hand on that one, give us a shout.

 

I haven't noticed mention of a tiled hearth above - is the old one still there?

 

Ziggy here's a snap of the coping, thanks for offering to give an opinion. It was causing a leak into the pantry below so as you can see I did a bit of a bodge job of cementing the main cracks in the coping as well as the flaunching which was cracked here and there. It has stopped the leak anyway. I know the pointing needs re-doing too but it's quite tricky to get to this area.
It;s been recommended to have a pro put a lead sheath over the lot, but I think it's pricey. I'm wondering what I can do to make it more weatherproof and more attractive.
I was thinking ... rub/sand down, pick out cracks, re-mortar, couple of good coats of weathersheild masonry paint. I know that's a re-bodge but still it might be better.

View attachment 2751

What do you think? Is this a pro job?

Cheers

p..s Scungee - previous owner had ripped everything out back to the plaster/brick.

 

I've got to go out now Fens, but me or paladin will talk you thru that later

 

Ok, i'm 30 miles away now.

I'll tell you my thoughts so you can decide what you want to do about it.

The Water tabling appears to be limestone and it looks like a victorian lime ash mortar pointing till you get to the obvious portland cement repairs at the bottom.

The masonry paint is doing it no favours, as you can see from the spall in the stone half way down, its holding any water in the stone which causes damage from frost/and or salt migration.

The crack in the lower stone was probably caused by water damage exploiting a flaw in the stone as there are no obvious signs of movement.

Recomendations :

Removal of all cement & masonry paint.

Removal of cement flaunching(even though its a good word) and replacement with code 5 lead flashing, possibly with the incorporation of a secret gutter.

A resin repair of the crack to the lower stone and mortar repairs to any spallings using an NHL 3.5 lime mortar.

Repointing the brickwork with a NHL 2 Lime mortar.

Its up to you if you wanted to reproduce the lime ash mortar, as its not really visible where it is, just an asthetic thing.

I know its tempting to slap a load of cement & masonry paint on as its cheaper, but then the next people to buy the house will be faced with a bigger bill as the damage will only get worse, the cement wont flex with the natural movement of the building, cracks will appear, water will get in & be trapped as the breathable surfaces of the stone are coated & the frost could blow the lot in the next bad winter.

Hope thats of some use.


You might want to wait to see what Paladin has to say about it too though.

Always good to have 2 pairs of eyes look at it

 

Thanks for that Ziggy, lot of food for thought for the spring.