Dining room floor extended where the fireplace stood

Removing a Gas Fireplace and Extending the Dining Room Floor in West Beach

ByEcoTuffSA

Removing a fireplace can change the whole layout of a room. On a bigger renovation in a West Beach house, we took out a gas fireplace and extended the dining room floor into the space where it stood. Here is how the job went, step by step.

Step 1: Demolishing the fireplace

The job started with the fireplace itself. The fireplace was broken out with a breaker, working through the plastered surround and the brickwork behind it. This is noisy, dusty work, so the area is cleared and the floors protected before it starts.

Worker breaking out a gas fireplace with an electric breaker in a West Beach house
Breaking out the gas fireplace.
Worker demolishing the brick surround of a fireplace, with rubble on the floor
The surround coming down.

A note on gas: if you are removing any gas appliance, the gas supply must be isolated and made safe by a registered gas installer before any demolition starts. Never cut into or demolish around a live gas line.

Step 2: The fireplace gone and the floor extended

With the fireplace out, what was left was a brick flue column running up to the ceiling and bare floor where the fireplace had stood. The dining room floor was then extended into this space, with the new floor built up so that it ran on from the existing chequered tile floor.

Exposed brick flue column with an opening in the ceiling, bare floor on the left and black and white chequered floor tiles on the right
What was left once the fireplace was gone: the brick flue column and the bare floor, with the chequered tiles beside it.
Two workers on the extended dining room floor beside the new raised floor edge, with a black and white chequered tile floor behind them
The extended floor taking shape, with the chequered tile floor behind.

Step 3: Skimming the extended part

The new raised part of the floor then had to be skimmed so that it would be smooth and match the rest of the room. Skimming is a thin layer of plaster applied by hand with a steel trowel. It covers the rough edge and gives a surface that is ready to be painted.

Two workers skimming the new floor edge in a renovated dining room
Skimming the extended part.
Worker skimming the edge of the extended floor with a steel trowel
Skimming the edge with a steel trowel.
Worker skimming the face of the new raised floor edge
The new floor edge being skimmed smooth.

Why this job matters for your renovation

  • Removing a fireplace opens up the room. The space can be used for a bigger dining area or a better layout.
  • Floors can be extended. A new floor area can be built up and tiled to match the existing floor.
  • Finishing matters. Good skimming and plastering make new work look like it was always there.

This was one part of a much bigger renovation. See our renovations, tiling and ceilings and wall skimming pages for the work we do.

Planning a renovation?

EcoTuffSA offers a free site inspection and a written quotation in Cape Town. Call 021 300 9899, WhatsApp 061 518 4148 or request a quote online.

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