What to do if you have an unwanted fireplace that you want to get rid of?

A question that we get asked regularly is “are you interested in buying a marble fireplace I’ve removed?”

You can picture the scene – a newly purchased Victorian house with a fireplace that nobody wants. Time for it to go.

Unfortunately, as we don’t sell second hand fireplaces, we can’t take it off your hands. But don’t worry, there are a few things you can do.

The first thing you can do is take a photo of it whilst it is still in situ.

Give it a wipe down with a dry duster or a damp cloth to get rid of any dust or grime. We would not recommend using any off the shelf cleaning products. These could cause irreparable damage! Then take some photos of your fireplace so you can send it to people who might be interested (see below).

If you have anything metal – insert grates, a basket or steel slips – then we would suggest wiping these completely dry and then using a little WD40 on the parts.

Your fireplace could potentially be worth a fair amount of money, so try getting an architectural salvage expert to look at your photos. They will be able to tell you what kind of stone is used (is it a marble fire surround on a polished granite hearth? Or does the limestone fire surround have slate slips?). They can also advise on what the best steps are for getting it removed.

You have a couple of options now;

• Sell it to the expert you contacted or another reclamation company. Just google “architectural salvage” and your area to see who’s near.
• Sell it online. There are many different sites available for you to sell your unwanted fireplace. eBay is the most obvious one, another is Gumtree. Others are available, of course!

The only other thing to think about is what is going to go there in its place…? Get in touch if you need to…