Cast iron fireplace

hi guys. Just moved into a new property and it has a cast iron fireplace. I am removing it and was just wondering the best place to sell it and how much I should be looking for it? I have no idea about antiques etc and do not want to be fleeced.

Thanks

 

Welcome Joe! That's lovely! Do you think it was original to the house?

Where you are will greatly influence your opportunities to sell it and how much you should expect. Most members who might venture a guess can only say what they might expect in their own area. Are there any "architectural salvage" businesses nearby?

 

That's a very difficult question to answer. I'm going to take it for granted that you purchased the premises, otherwise probably no right to remove and sell.

OK. Value depends on age, condition, and the market in wherever you are. Get as much information from it that you can. Then post here - size, any maker ID and model numbers, etc. And a few more pictures won't hurt. Several members will stop by and offer expert advice.

OK, my reason for sticking my nose in here.
1. It is as described, I think. As is - A fireplace, not a stove. A stove would have a door on it. Did it have a door at one time? If so, is it on the premises? Might be necessary in order to sell for a reasonable price.
2. A stove is much more practical that an open fire place. The stove will radiate heat throughout the room. A fireplace will probably radiate about 25% of the heat a closed stove would provide. When the fire is out, a properly installed stove prevents any heat from going up the chimney. An open fireplace cannot - should not - be closed off until the embers have completely cooled. That actually sucks a lot of heat out of the room and sends it up the flue.
3. And most important, WHY DID THE FORMER OCCUPANT INSTALL AN OPEN STOVE/FIREPLACE? Possibly the opening required it for safety reasons. In other words FIND OUT WHY IT'S THERE before replacing it.

OK, now for a caveat.
Are you by any chance a contractor well known for building chimneys and fireplaces? Or a general contractor designing and building custom homes for the past 40 forty years? If so, just please erase this whole response and forget I ever said HI.

If not, please obtain advice and a complete inspection from a knowledgeable local contractor before using that fireplace. It could possibly require inspection and permits from your city/town/county building inspector before making any changes.

In any event, have fun renovating the new home and enjoy it.

 

Thanks for all the responses guys I've contacted a few salvage people

 

Davey - i am having a hard time visualizing this. Do you have a photo?

 

Interesting, Davey. I was first here and typing all the #*%_! while a few others were posting. Sometimes I think it's not a U.S. question and, as I did with Joe, checked his info, but didn't catch a hint as to location.

Not that unusual to see similar on this side, but the mantel piece didn't quite match. OH Well, I got the exercise.

YES. What happened to the picture?

 

Glad I am not crazy. I kept trying to figure out where the picture was of this thing.

 

Thank you!!

 

A bit odd.

BWDIK?

 

Dave, are we talking about chimney-less fireplaces?

Now very popular here, but really for show, not heat.

http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=chimney+less+fireplaces.+&FORM=HDRSC2

 

This form is less prevalent here in the US but not unknown. I always wondered if these were originally meant to burn coal since the fire boxes are rather small and you often find antique forms with enclosed fronts.

 

I always wondered if these were originally meant to burn coal

Brad, I was wondering the same thing. Traveling in the UK & Ireland in the 1970's & 1980's (and much less so since then,) we often found similar-looking fireplaces in our rooms.

I know for certain that some of them burned coal, because we'd come back from exploring and find a lovely coal fire burning! (At one place in Scotland and a couple in Ireland, the staff left huge buckets of coal to get us thru the chilly nights.)

 

First of all, why do you want to remove it!? It is lovely and adds a lovely feature to the house, also if it is original, houses complete with original features are often more popular these days and sometimes worth more. It is so sad to look on gumtree for antiques and find original features like leadlight doors, fireplace mantles, ceiling roses and bricks for sale after this 'renovation trend', hopefully it will end soon because those features make the house unique from all the houses built these days. Anyway, to me the fire place from OP looked Edwardian or early to mid 1920's Georgian. I assume British and Australian styles were similar in this department. There is nothing that heats the room as well as a fireplace, I can't imagine why not many modern houses are built without them? They are great. Best of luck anyway, I would get it valued by a professional then consider your options to avoid getting ripped off.

 

I've had several fireplaces in different homes. Two dating back to 1710/20. And some "modern" homes.
The one that surprised me the most was a 1980 ranch. About 2000 sq. ft., built in 1960. One typical fireplace in the living room. The former owner left an average size cast iron stove, set on the hearth in front of the fireplace, not inserted. The typical kind, with a door that closed. There was also a small pile of wood next to the garage. This in a climate where the heat gets turned on in September.
I started using the wood and brought in a few more cords, because that little stove heated the entire house. I didn't turn the oil furnace on until just before Christmas when we wouldn't be around as much to feed the stove.

I never found a modern fireplace that was efficient enough to evenly heat a room. .