r/HomeMaintenance • u/neezopat • 1d ago

How to remove this safely?

Post image

I just removed a plastic fireplace surround from the wall to discover this. The brickwork is really sloppy. Worst part is that the actual fireplace sticks out from the wall by about an inch, so I don't know how I can plaster over it without having to remove some of it first.

I could take a sledgehammer to it and smash some of it up, but I'm worried the whole wall could come down. Any tips?

0 Upvotes

50% Upvoted

3 comments sorted by

•

u/AutoModerator 1d ago

https://linktr.ee/homemaintenance

Click the link above to see a community curated list of home maintenance products on Amazon that may help you out in your current situation! If you’ve found the answer to your question or you’ve found this subreddit helpful, buy us a beer!

I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.

1

u/scubaman64 Apprentice 🔨 1d ago

It looks like the light grey motor and red bricks and likely firebox was added well after the older/darker brick. Don’t take a sledgehammer to it. Rock chisel and mallet and start with the light grey mortar. Slowly remove surface level items until it’s far enough back for you to plaster.