Needing Collaboration Please #1: Picture of the fireplace that I want to cover up

I have not given your project a lot of thought, however I would certainly incorporate a safe with a secret opening. A false wall so to speak.

-- Made in America, with American made tools....Shopsmith

We covered up two such fireplaces in our recent remodel. The one was a facelift which left a working fireplace and the other was a complete cover up, and was almost exactly like what you have there.

It’s a bit late, but I’ll will try to find time tomorrow for some before and after photos or at the very least an explanation of what we did. It’s much easier than you would think!

Jumbojack: Shhhh…it’s where we keep the children that didn’t behave…..
Natalie

-- Natalie - My mind is like a bad neighborhood, I don't like to go there alone.

Okay, I have some photos but not the energy to figure out how to embed them in this blog. If you send me an email address I’ll send you photos and an explanation of what we did.
natalie

-- Natalie - My mind is like a bad neighborhood, I don't like to go there alone.

If you are going to cover up that fireplace, I suggest that you do seal off the top of the stove pipe or
chimney that is on top of it to prevent any problems down the road.

-- As ever, Gus-the 74 yr young apprentice carpenter

Make a galvanized metal cap to cover the top of the chimney and do that first. Cover the entire top of the chimneyor you will have problems later. Now look at those photos you have been offered.

Here is my answer to this blog, sans the photos. I emailed them to Jim, but am not set up on photobucket yet, so can’t post them in the blog.

The first step is to demo and remove the bench. You could also remove the bricks on the wall and save yourself 6 inches of room space. Or you could do what we did and used 2×6’s to reframe the walls over the exsisting sheet rock and used 2×4’s laying flat over the bricks, making the whole wall flush. Then we simply sheet rocked over it and had a new flat wall. Either method you will still have to sheet rock the wall, but you will save your self the time/ labor and mess of demo-ing the brick and existing sheet rock. The only hard part is getting rid of the bench. Then you just frame the wall and sheet rock.

We didn’t worry about the chimney, maybe you take the advice and do something about that too. We did remember to make sure the flue was closed, and we placed rigid foam insulation in the opening before we covered it.

I don’t know how much remodeling experience you have, but most people who have tried it will tell you that a sheet rock job of that size is not going to be very expensive, and it’s just not a job for DIY. Many have tried, most have regretted it.

-- Natalie - My mind is like a bad neighborhood, I don't like to go there alone.

I am posting these on Natalie’s behalf:

Thank you for the suggestions everyone, and thanks to Natalie for the how to and the pictures!!!!!

-- Jimmy---- Never be afraid to try something new. Remember, amateurs built the Ark, professionals built the Titanic.

Be sure to post after pics when you are done.

-- Natalie - My mind is like a bad neighborhood, I don't like to go there alone.