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How to Restore a Victorian Fireplace

Restoring a Victorian Fireplace

June 3, 2016 - 2 Comments - 3 min read

Last year I started searing for a Victorian Fireplace to re-instate into the smallest bedroom. There would have originally been a fireplace in this room, but sadly at some point it’s been removed.

I searched both Gumtree and eBay for some time and actually ended up finding and buying two.

Despite the first one I purchased being listed as “victorian”, one was a reproduction and clearly quite new, so I was a little disappointed and decided to re-sell and keep looking.

Eventually I found and purchased a true Victorian beauty which had been saved from a house by a builder in Leicester. He popped it on eBay and sold it to me for just £70.

It came complete with its original insert, soot hatch and grill. I think it’s just stunning!

Fireplace Restoration Before
Victorian Fireplace in Layers of Paint
Victorian Fireplace Insert with Soot Hatch and Grill

Of course over the years it’s been covered in various layers of paint as trends have changed. I knew I wanted to bring it back to its former glory, stripping it back from all that paint and polishing it back up to its original raw iron finish.

To do this, I used a tutorial from one of my favourite blogs, Little House on the Corner who wrote a fantastic step-by-step guide after restoring not one but two original fireplaces! I highly recommend checking out their tutorial here!

I wanted to share some photos of this restoration and document its before and after!

You can see how amazing the Peel Away paint stripper works, which was recommended by Little House on The Corner! I only needed to apply this once and it took everything right off!!

Using Peel Away on a Victorian Fireplace
Peel Away Chemical Paint Remover Working
Removing Paint from a Victorian Fireplace

I absolutely love how it’s revealed a level of detail on the fireplace that you couldn’t see before after all those layers of paint!

The only problem I had with the Peel Away paint stripper was that as it dried, it would re-clog all those little details and scraping away such small areas really wasn’t practical.

I posted my a picture on Instagram (you can follow me here if you’re wondering) and the lovely couple from A Foot on the Ladder advised me to use this little nifty tool:

Wire Brush Drill Bit

It’s a wire brush drill bit, which simply goes on the end of a drill. It was something I didn’t even know existed! But oh boy I am glad to have been recommended it!

It worked amazingly, buffed up the fireplace to a shine and took away the need for hours of scrubbing at those tiny little details!

How to Buff a Cast Iron Fireplace
Cleaning Intricate Detail on a Victorian Fireplace

The level of detail is absolutely stunning and has made SUCH a difference!

I can’t be more thrilled with how this restoration turned out, it was surprisingly easy to do (Peel Away is amazing!) and restoring this fireplace was so so very worth it.

I apologise for the incoming picture spam – but c’mon, just look at it!

Victorian Fireplace Detail
Intricate Detail on Fireplace
Cast Iron Fireplace with Detail
Restoring a Victorian Fireplace

To finish up, I added a little bit of black grate polish to protect the fireplace and give it a matt black finish.

What a difference a bit of restoration makes – look how much better even the insert now looks!

Grate Polish on Victorian Fireplace Insert
Victorian Soot Hatch
Victorian Fireplace Fully Restored
DIY Fireplace Restoration

So that’s it! I still have the shelf to restore before we can properly fit this to the wall, but I’m ridiculously pleased with how well this has turned out.

It’s definitely going add some lovely period charm to this room and I think will add a real focal point. I can’t wait to get this finished!! What do you think?

Costs

(rounded to the nearest pound)

New Tools Purchased:
Wire Drill Bits £4

Materials Used:
Peel Away 1 £35
Grate Polish £5

Total: £44

Kezzabeth

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2 Comments

  • Hayley January 20, 2021 at 12:00 pm

    This is amazing! Can I ask, did you use 5KG or more? Want to restore our fireplace and working out how much I need!

    • Kezzabeth February 5, 2021 at 3:07 pm

      We bought a 5kg tub and barely used 1/4 of it! A little goes a long way – although you may use slightly more than us depending on how many layers of paint you need to get through and the size of your fireplace. But 5kg should do the job!

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    Hi - I'm Kezzabeth! Self-taught DIYer, Renovator and Blogger on a mission to turn our house into a home. Seven years ago I was clueless and skill-less, but since then I've learnt how to build, tile, plumb and more. This is my little place on the web where I share everything I've learnt so you can learn too. Read More

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    DIY Content: We’re not builders or experts in the trade industry, so please take any information on this blog as a rough guide and just our own experiences. This blog relates to our home only and you should always consult a professional in you’re in any doubt of work. Please also be aware Building Regulations change often, so always do your own research as well.
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