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A small restoration project

 I have recently come back from a holiday in the UK, staying with my sister and brother-in-law in Buckinghamshire. They live in a 1930s house that has had several alterations and additions over its lifespan, one of which was the removal of the fireplace in the front bedroom. One of their neighbours, in an identical house, is in the process of a major renovation, which included the removal of the upstairs cast-iron fireplace, which my sister rescued from their skip waste.

The rescued fireplace in its original condition
Although there was a legacy of many layers of paint, now in a sorry state, the only serious damage was to the left lower corner, and the cast-iron mantlepiece was beyond salvage. The first task was to clean off many generations of soot and spiderwebs, before starting the major work of removing all the old paint. In any restoration project, the preparation is the most important stage of the work, however tedious and unrewarding it may seem when doing it. Here, I had the benefit of my sister's excellent scraper that could reach into all the intricate detailing.
In the UK one can get these multi-function scrapers, perfect for paint removal
After much scraping and sanding with a brush attachment to an electric drill, we were ready to start painting. We gave the whole fireplace, front and back, a good work-over with a steel brush to remove any remaining rust, especially on the back, which would have been exposed to moisture from the chimney in its previous life.
Sanding and scraping complete
The most important thing at this stage, before applying any paint, is to make sure that all loose material is removed and that there are no obvious edges of paint remaining. There will always be a couple of places where removing every trace of paint is almost impossible, but the closer one can get to this state, the better the final result. 

We used iron-oxide primer on the back of the fireplace, to protect from rust, and a proprietary metal paint for the front and all other visible sides, including the large chunk of masonry at the back of the grate, used to store heat from the fire to re-radiate into the room even after the fire has died down.

First paint coat complete
We ended up doing two coats of paint, even though after the first coat, the transformation was amazing. The second coat gave a deeper lustre, and will protect the cast-iron for many decades. 

The next step was the installation. The space that had housed the original 1930s fireplace had simply been boarded up with a skirting taken across the boarding. This skirting matched the rest of the room perfectly, so might have been taken from elsewhere in the original part of the house during an older renovation. At some point, before boarding up the space, this must have served as an alcove, as it had been wall-papered, but this must have been very draughty, as the chimney was never closed off.

Cleaning up the fireplace opening
After the initial fitting, we had to make a decision about the hearth. The original ghastly pink tiles in the area in front of the fireplace would have to go at some point, but given that this fireplace would not be in active use, the existing carpet could remain, trimmed back around the profile of the cast-iron. We also needed to trim back the skirtings, shaped to the splay of the fireplace sides, and come up with a new plan for the mantlepiece. Here, we found the perfect piece of hardwood from a wonderful reclamation yard, which we cut to size and fixed to the wall with steel brackets. Reclamation yards in the UK are truly amazing - one can get anything from salvaged panelled doors to original slate tiles and Victorian bricks, all cleaned up and ready for installation.

The last important part of the job was to make a new corner for the fireplace, where the cast-iron had been broken. We speculated on several options, even trying a papier-mâché cast, which failed spectacularly! The final solution was to make a new piece from 3mm thick poplar wood from the local hobby shop, with a backing of a recycled timber block fixed to the wall for stability.

The new corner detail, with the joint filled with putty, ready for a coat of paint to match the cast-iron
After finishing the mantle-piece with a protective treatment of oil, we were ready for the final installation, a great addition to the room, perfectly in keeping with the rest of the detailing. We were very lucky to be able to salvage the fireplace from an identical house, and re-use skirtings that were an exact match for the rest of the room, with a very authentic result.
The project completed

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