Here's how I had to lay bricks to cover up the old fireplace hole after knocking out the chimney and chimney breast. However, if you still have a chimney breast, please read the notes as the method is different.

Bricked up fire place with The Carpenter's Daughter

For the last three weeks, I've been documenting on YouTube how we've been helping my parents renovate their latest bungalow project. I say helping; it's more that my Dad is teaching me and I'm totally up for the ride!

One of these project videos covered how I got on the roof to help remove the chimney. Then the chimney breast itself. The reason for it all was it's not necessary. In fact, this bungalow had a gas fire anyway. Also, the chimney took up room in the kitchen, making it considerably smaller.

So, really, it's been a lot of effort to make room for one of two more kitchen units and worktop space. But we all know how valuable extra storage is. Particularly here in the UK where I believe our average kitchen sizes are smaller than the US. So here's what we were left it before bricking it up.

Lay Bricks before shot with hole in the wall

HOW TO I BRICK UP A FIREPLACE WITH A CHIMNEY BREAST

After I'd bricked up the old fireplace and shared it on my Instagram page, I had a few comments about needing a vent. So I think it's important to talk about this in case it's not obvious. As in our case, it's a single bricked wall. However, if you still have a chimney breast and chimney, it's advised to leave a vent.

This is for the chimney to breath and prevent damp. You can do this by leaving a small gap and fixing a vent like this. But I can't stress enough that you should have a cap or net covering the top of the chimney. The reason for this is to prevent birds from falling down and dying.

It's a horrible thought, but it happened to us when I was a kid. Thankfully my Dad knew how to disconnect the gas fire and removed it to save the bird. It looked a tedious task, then once the bird was freed, he flew in to my bedroom and pooed on the nets frightened. Poor thing, but I'll never forget it.

sweeping debris away before I lay bricks

GUIDE TO LAY BRICKS TO COVER A HOLE IN THE WALL

First, I'd like to point out that I am not a professional and you should always do your own research depending on your situation. In some instances you may need to add metal pieces in to the mortar as you go to ensure it's structural sound.

My Dad informed me we didn't have to as we're laying the bricks in a "running bond" fashion. And that the bricks were keyed in to the remaining frame (as in adding brickes the notches) so when we lay bricks, they matched with the rest.

So I started (above) by sweeping away as much debris as I could.

the carpenter's daughter mixing mortar in cement mixer — **Safety tip: wear safety gear and don't stick your hands or shovel in the mixer while it's turned on.**

WHAT MORTAR MIX RATIO SHOULD I USE?

What I've found since shring my projects is that things like mortar mix ratios are debetable. People have their favourite recipes and even after following Tommy Walsh's mix in the past, others have disagreed. So, I'm going to share my Dad's method today. Above, you can see I started by adding a dash of water.

It's always hard to add towards the end for a lump free consistency. I probably added about 500ml. Then I added 4 shovels of building sand to 1 shovel of cement. Note, it's more accurate measuring in volumes, ie, in containers with measures. Then add a capful of plastisiser for a smooth texture.

DO I NEED A CEMENT MIXER?

Technically no, you don't need a cement mixer. But it makes life so much easier. Often I've just mixed in wheel barrow and mixed with a shovel. But you'll need more energy to mix in batches. It will also set overnight, depending on the temperature, so you don't need to work super quick. And ensure you clean your mixer before it sets.

BEGINNING TO LAY BRICKS

If you haven't seen my safety warning above, the please don't work with mortar unless you're wearing safety gear. Above, I'm wearing steel toe cap boots, rubber gloves, goggles and a mask. And I have a makeshift kneeling pad.

Mortar and cement burns, so if you get it on your skin or eyes, wash it off immediately.

Then, using a trowel, lay a bed of mortar and lay your first bricks in line with the existing ones around it. Make sure you add mortar to each side of your brick as you go and with plenty along the sides of the hole. This "plenty" is called "gobbo".

CUTTING BRICKS WITHOUT A CUTTER

I just need to fast forward briefly to how I cut down the bricks. We had so many left over from demoliting the chimney breast, so we recycled them. If you do this too, you'll need to make sure old mortar is removed. So for the half bricks we needed, I would find one to the closest size I needed.

If I was lucky, I'd find a perfect match, but the chances are, you'll need to trim them. I'd then hold the brick on the floor and hammer the ends off with a hammer. You'll absolutely need to wear goggles for this as brick chips will fly everywhere.

Sometimes the brick would completely break, but it's not like our brick supply was low. So I'd find a new one and take another crack at it. It wasn't as time consuming as you may think.

adding gobbo towards the end of an old fire place opening

Then add plenty of "gobbo" (aka a big dollop of mortar) to fit in to the sides. See above for reference.

LAY BRICKS THAT ARE LEVEL

Normally, a bricklayer would use a spirit level to ensure they're straight. And some string as a plumbline. But as we need to lay bricks in a hole in the wall, we used a flat, straight batten. Note, the batten is long enough to lay against the existing exposed bricks.

Any longer, then we wouldn't be able to get it in line with the old bricks. Too short, then we can't hold it against the existing bricks. So I held it against the bricks while resting on the old ones. Then tap from behind to ensure the new bricks were inline.

Then rest the batten on top and gently mallet down so it was inline again, horizontally. They didn't need to be accurate down the the mm, but close enough that nothing would protrude when plastered.

Then repeat with your next course.

It's very important you fill the brick' hole along the top with mortar. This indent is also called the "frog".

However, I'm also informed some lay the bricks with the frog facing upwards. Some facing downwards. We're going upwards here.

Make sure you add mortar again on the sides as you go.

Now we're tapping again from the back. Don't worry that it looks messy though. We'll remove the "snots" later.

Snots are the bits of protruding mortar.

straightening top of bricks while bricking up a fire place

Use the batten again to hammer down the bricks and ensure they're all inline with the existing courses.

Having a running bond (a usual brick laying effect), also meant keying in the bricks above.

So I'm adding plenty of mortar (gobbo) in the notch to lay bricks during my next course.

adding mortar while wearing rubber gloves

Then continue to lay bricks as usual. And add some more gobbo.

As you get to the top, it will get tighter. So I'm using the side of a club hammer to ensure I can straighten the tops.

scraping excess mortar off freshly laid bricks

REMOVING THE EXCESS MORTAR (AKA SNOTS)

As you go, or towards the end, you'll need to remove the excess mortar.

This is because when it sets, you won't want any protrusions for when it gets plastered.

Above, I'm scraping them off with a trowel.

Then for the upper narrow gap which was much tighter, I filled with plenty of gobbo. Then squeezed in narrow bits of bricks.

Then went over the entire bricks and filled any gaps with more mortar where needed.

Here, I'm doing my final mortar "snots" removal. Then leave overnight to set.

More Home Removations You Might Like

If you need to do an array of home improvements in your house, then here's a few you I've had to do too that you might find useful.

How to Use a Wallpaper Stripper

Rendered Breeze Block Patio Step DIY (Cost £60)

Laying a Paved Patio Tutorial with BEFORE & AFTER

Laying a Garden Patio - DIY

How I Made & Fitted our DIY Double Wooden Gates

How to Put Up a Curtain Pole Batten with Grab Adhesive

Tiling a Kitchen Splashback with Metro Tiles

DIY Plastering Before Tiling

Plastering & Skimming a Wall with Chased Cables

How to Fit Kitchen Base Units

HOW TO LAY BRICKS BEFORE PLASTERING STEP BY STEP

Yield: 1 bricked up fireplace hole in wall