A fireplace can be an attractive addition to the ambiance of a room. It elevates the overall class of the room and also provides a source of light and heat. When you think of a cozy winter evening, your thoughts will be incomplete without a fireplace. Many home buyers look for a fireplace while buying a new home. For many people, this fireplace is the most favorite hangout in their house. However, it is not enough to have a fireplace. At some time it might become important to go for fireplace restoration in case the one in your home has become old and needs some renovation. The time and energy required to spend behind fireplace restoration is worth the output.
The following steps can help you do fireplace restoration effectively.
The following steps can help you do fireplace restoration effectively.
- The very first thing that you need to consider before doing the restoration is to see whether you have the right permission to do fireplace restoration. In case you do not have it, you will have to contact the concerned authority and take guidance along this line. After there are certain rules and regulations that you need to adhere while you go for fireplace restoration.
- The fireplace that you have at home is age old since it needs restoration. In case of such old fireplaces many people have undergone painting for several times, some have even been covered in order to be protected from draught. For covering fireplaces, many have put up dry-walls. But you need to uncover your fireplace for restoration. Hence, if there is any drywall made for covering it up, you will need to get it removed by hiring a builder.
- You need to carefully check whether your fireplace is properly connected to the chimney. The connection might have been disturbed over the years. You could light a candle under the chimney in order to test it. In case you find that the connection is lost, you will have to seek professional help in order to get it fixed.
- You need to look around the fireplace very carefully. Without leaving a single area, you have to see whether any kind of damage has taken place in the due course of time. Check what needs to be repaired and do the needful.
- You need to carefully check the surrounding of the fireplace. Since the fireplace has been there for many years now, the original surrounding is likely to have been taken out. Hence, you have to think of replacing it with materials that are close to its original looks. According to the size of the hearth, the new surround has to have the right dimension. You could browse different websites to find the one that suits your fireplace.
- Your fireplace being there for many years, it has experienced painting and re-painting several times. But now for an effective fireplace restoration, you need to strip the paint coats. Thus, you would need a paint stripper so that you can get through the paint layers. But while doing so, you have to be very careful so that you do not damage anything. Or else you would again have to work on repairing that damage.
- After stripping the paint, you would find the original tiles lying beneath the layers of paint. For a proper restoration of your fireplace, you will need to restore these tiles. You need to thoroughly clean them and also fix the damages that they have undergone. This may account for repairing the cracks or putting glue to the areas that need to be re-fixed. If you find that the tiles are too damaged to get repaired, then you have to look for new tiles having the design that resembles the original. You could even go for customized tiles.
