Concrete removal tunnel

Chris has been trying to work out how to remove large chunks of the old concrete hearth without spreading the dust throughout the whole house. This is the contraption he came up with and it meant that the dust went up the chimney naturally. It created a lovely tunnel for him to work in (whilst wearing a dust mask!)

Removing the hearth.

While the girls and I went out for a walk (see here) Chris spent the day lifting floorboards- he's now completed most of the room and starting to remove the concrete that was under the hearth.
The amount of dust in the air is clear from the patterns from the flash.

The hole gets bigger

This was the sight that greeted me on my arrival home from work.

The fireplace has gone!!

It is time to bid farewell to our living room fireplace. It has served us well for toasting marshmallows and toes, even if aesthetically it has been a disgrace!


Careful removal of tiles and cutting of the ties holding the whole thing to the wall meant we could pull it out a little and clean out most of the 71 years of soot that accumulates where the sweep's brush cannot reach. The Dyson coped admirably but did require its filters washing twice within 24 hours.






Paul and Beth came round and helped us move the concrete monstrosity out to be demolished in the front garden. Rebekah helped by giving it a gentle push.



I'm half inclined to think that it looks better with a hole than with all the tiles!