Hi, I am new here and new to renovation!
I just bought a house built in 1925. Most rooms have what I thought were fireplaces that had been plastered over. There are no chimneys in the roof. The mantels are still there, the openings have been plastered over and there is wallpaper over that (all the rooms were wallpapered). The wallpaper on one fireplace area is bulging out. I removed it and found crumbling plaster and a round ceramic opening. So now I am thinking that these were openings for wood stoves. I had planned to restore the fireplaces over time but don't want wood stoves. What should I do now? Each 'fireplace' area is a rectangle that intrudes into the room so they are quite noticeable even I removed the mantels (which I don't want to do).
I just bought a house built in 1925. Most rooms have what I thought were fireplaces that had been plastered over. There are no chimneys in the roof. The mantels are still there, the openings have been plastered over and there is wallpaper over that (all the rooms were wallpapered). The wallpaper on one fireplace area is bulging out. I removed it and found crumbling plaster and a round ceramic opening. So now I am thinking that these were openings for wood stoves. I had planned to restore the fireplaces over time but don't want wood stoves. What should I do now? Each 'fireplace' area is a rectangle that intrudes into the room so they are quite noticeable even I removed the mantels (which I don't want to do).